


An Ordinary Life

by JellBeanie



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27485758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellBeanie/pseuds/JellBeanie
Summary: This story is based on my OC in Ordinary of the Extraordinary, but it is set in a modern world. Leilah starts university with her best friend and brother when an attack hits the school. Follow her through trying times as she figures out uni, a mystery that everyone seems to want to keep her away, and a possible romance.
Relationships: OC/Yone
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

"Good morning, Leilah! Ready for your first day of uni?" Mother barges into my room. I blearily look out my window to see the day has barely started. Not even the sun has risen. I look at my clock and slam my head under my pillow. It's not even five.

"Mother, why so early? This isn't the time of farmers and Neanderthals." I whine.

"Now, you listen here, Leilah Starshadow. First day of University is a very important one. You need to make a good impression." Mother lectures.

"Mother, please? I can't make a good impression when I'm half asleep."

"C'mon, sis. Time to wake up." My brother groans as he flops onto my bed. His body crushes mine.

"John, get off. You're heavy!" I grunt. All I get is an elbow to my side. I wiggle out from under my comfy covers and flop to the floor with a squeal. John laughs at my misery.

"John, Leilah, I got breakfast!" Father calls to us. John stares at me, his bright red eyes looking heavy with sleep and his black, shiny hair all fluffed up. I reach over and mess it even further. If there's one thing that he hates more, it's someone messing with his appearance.

"Stop it, sis!" He yells. He reaches over and rubs my starry hair in retaliation. I just let him. He grumbles under my breath how I'm no fun. "First day of school, and I need to make a good appearance."

"I don't need three hours to get ready, John. What are you, a diva?" I mumble.

"Well, I have to compete with my beautiful little sister. After all, you somehow got the greatest eyes in the universe. Even doctors are confused as to how you managed that." John complains.

"Twenty minutes, and you know mom's a geneticist. You have red eyes! Remember high school? Jane? Carrie? Alexa? Do you know how many girls started being friends with me just because they wanted to date you?" I remind him, feeling a bit more awake now that I'm arguing with John. Always a favorite past time to get the brain going.

"At least they were heading in the right direction. I should hope no crazy girl will go after me without getting along with you." John looks in my mirror and tries his best to make his hair line the way he likes it. A hint of 'sexy messiness' as he calls it. "Even then, do you know how many guys came to me asking about you? They wondered how your hair could have genetic stars in it. And have two very different eyes? You are going to get all the attention, sis."

"My eyes are overrated. I see just as well as anyone else." I get up and look into my heterochromatic-behaving eyes. My left eye is topped by a deep blue. Halfway down it transitions to a bright green. My right eye is red, like John's, but halfway down, it's pure black. Underneath my iris, the red in my eye cracks into the black. I check my skin for any annoying acne. I barely get a scan in before I'm knocked away by John. "Go back to your room! At least your have your gel to make it right."

"But your mirror looks so much better with me in it!" John teases me. I glare at him.

"John Daamien Starshadow! Go back to your room and let me take care of myself in peace!" I scream.

"John, do as your sister demands! You know what she's like in the morning!" Father calls up.

"I sure do. Grumpy and demandy. Nothing like my sweet innocent little sister-"

"GET OUT!" I yell and shove him out my door. I even make sure that I run my hand through his hair. He yelps and dashes next door to his room. I barely get a good glimpse of his black snake, Noche, before he slams the door.

"Don't touch my hair!" He yells through his door. I roll my eyes and close my door and look at my night-themed room with my queen size bed. Everything is themed with a constellation. I see my favorites of the Warrior, the Sun and the Moon through my personally painted borealis on my ceiling. Even my mirror is night-themed, little constellation in the corners of it. I went through a phase when I was twelve, loving the stars. I demanded that I repaint my whole room personally. Turns out, I'm a damn good artist. But going to University, I don't know what I want to do. I was a straight A student in high school, letting me get into Runeterra University easily. John got in through his sports scholarships. He was our star quarterback, going to the best University in the country. For someone so diva about his appearance, he could easily get down and dirty with anyone. Both of us were ecstatic when we found out we were going to the same university together. Like we have always done in our entire lives, we go onto the next part of our life together.

I sit down at my sun-shaped desk cluttered with newly bought school supplies and grab my moon comb from a drawer. I gently brush through my long hair. It shimmers with each passing brush, the little spots in my hair twinkling from the finally rising sun. Each brush pulls out tangles that I got from the night and from John's roughness this morning.

"Leilah, do you have any mascara left?" John yells through the wall.

"Wha- Why would you need mascara?" I yell.

"I wasn't asking for me. It makes your eyes stand out. I need to look better than my sister at her best."

"We don't even have the same classes!"

"Well, we're meeting up for lunch!"

"Says who?"

"I do!" John flops to the ground with a yelp. I sigh, shake my head. And look through my wardrobe. Everything is super baggy and comfortable. And, knowing my mother and brother, they would never let me out of the house unless I look my best. I sigh and pull out my favorite comfortable dress. A light blue dress with little holes on my shoulders that fits all the curves on my small body well. I look back to my mirror and roll my eyes, grabbing my mascara and a little bit of lip gloss to touch up. Of course, even my lip gloss has to make my lips shimmer. My twelve year old phase doesn't seem to have changed at all. I still love shimmers.

"Leilah! How long are you going to take?" John knocks at my door, whining. I groan and open my door to see my brother is wearing a pair of black ripped jeans and his leather jacket with a clean white t-shirt underneath. We look each other up and both snort.

"Mother will never let you out of the house like that. You look gay." I point out.

"I'm bi. And I look hot damn good in this. What are you supposed to be? A starry princess?" He retorts.

"You know I prefer t-shirts and hoodies over everything, but you and mother can be so uptight about my appearance on first days." I hiss.

"Fair enough. I was expecting you to try and use your favorite off shoulder hoodie and have mom yell at you, but I guess I will have to wait another year." John snickers.

"Well, I hope you have all your school supplies." I snap while grabbing my notebooks and pencils and throwing them into my constellation backpack.

"You're still using that thing? I would have thought that you would have wanted to use a clean black backpack. You know-"

"It draws attention to my hair. I know. I don't care. Still love the stars."

"You were born for it. Hurry up. Mom's made pancakes. Our favorites."

"I still can't believe you love espresso pancakes. You get so jittery from them." I tease as I haul my backpack on.

"Who wants berry pancakes? You can't have fruit bits in it." John snarks. I shake my head.

"I'll meet you downstairs!" I chirp. I hear John trip and curse wildly.

"Noche, no! You can't- get back in your-" John's voice gets more muffled the farther I get away. I leap down the stairs to our little kitchen. Mother has my berry pancakes freshly made in my spot. John's weird pancakes are still being made. Father is flipping them while Mother is grabbing syrup and whipped cream.

"Good morning Mother, Father!" I chirp happily. I kiss both of them on their cheeks and take a seat.

"Good morning, Leilah dear. Sleep alright?" Father asks.

"Well I did until Mother and John decided to wake me up early." I take my seat and happily bite into fluffy, gooey pancakes. Even without syrup, Father makes the best pancakes.

"Well, you know your mother and brother inherited the early to rise gene, even if John is still a little sleepy. Sorry, but you got my night owl genes." Father brings John's pancakes to the table. He just gets back to the kitchen when John leaps down. This time he's in a pair of clean jeans and a white t-shirt. He carries his leather jacket under his arm. He drops the jacket on the back of his chair and digs into his giant twelve stack.

"Coward." I cough under my breath. John glances at our parents quickly before flipping me the finger.

"John, I know you did not just do that." Mother scolds him without looking. John pales until he matches my skin tone. I'm a pale person. You'd think a geneticist would have made me a little tan like the rest of the family, but nooooo.

"Sorry Mother." He meekly apologizes before digging back into his caffeine rush. I grab the syrup and pass it over to him. He grabs it and just drenches his plate. I pass him the whipped cream next and he makes his plate completely white. Great, now his sugar rush is here.

"Would you like some pancakes with your sugar?" I ask sarcastically.

"Leilah Aurora, you be nice to your brother, understood." Mother threatens.

"Wha- He jumps me in my sleep and you're ok with that, but I tease my brother and I get scolded for it?"

"You leave in an hour. Eat up, get your things, brush your teeth, and take your father's car. I have work to do." Mother orders as she grabs her purse and leaves the house. Father just hums and continues to make delicious lunches for us.

"You know what your mother is like. She's getting into work mode. Her company's still trying to figure out how she manages to change your eyes into looking like that, but not your brother's." Father remarks.

"I know, I know. They brought me in on school trip days, remember?" I shake my head. I have no idea what my mother was thinking when she decided to test her genetic experiment on her unborn twins, but she did and here we are.

"Are you still bitter about that?" John asks.

"You got to go to an astrology presentation and Mother dragged me to her workplace for testing. At thirteen. During my little astrology phase. Yes, I'm still bitter." I grab a gulp of Father's homemade orange juice. Absolute deliciousness. I finish the last of my pancakes and take my plate to the sink. I start to clean them when Father reaches over.

"Don't worry too much about that. Go on, get ready for your first day of school." Father kisses my forehead. I nod and leave. I glance over at John's plate to see he's almost done. My brother, the human vacuum. I jump to get to the bathroom first, brushing my teeth. I just manage to finish when John starts to pound on the door.

"Are you done yet? I gotta clean my teeth." He whines. I wipe my mouth and leave the bathroom.

"After all that sugar and caffeine? I'm not surprised." I snark.

"Your lip gloss got wiped off." He retorts annoyed and closes the bathroom. I laugh at his pathetic attempt to banter. I stop in the hallway, remembering that Runeterra requires ID to get on campus. I run back to my room and pick it up from my nightstand. As I'm about to leave, I remember what John said and reapply my lip gloss. After I pucker my lips ad check for perfection(Damn you, John), I run to John's room and ggrab his Runeterra Uni ID, knowing he'd forget it. Noche flicks his tongue to greet me. I wave him goodbye. I run back down the stairs and grab the keys and our lunches from Father's hand.

"Love you, Father." I call over my shoulder. I walk out the door and open Father's Honda civic. It's dark blue with a beautiful cream interior. I'm opening the garage and turning on the car when John barrels out the door and trips again. He loads all his sports stuff and backpack into the trunk and climbs into the front seat.

"Why are you driving?" He demands.

"I was better at getting ready that you were? And I don't trip twelve times a day. How you managed to be star quarterback is because you trip over yourself while throwing." I retort.

"Take that back. You know I don't trip in the field." John points his finger at me as I drive out.

"Oh, I know you're lying. I went to every. Single. Game. And you definitely tripped and threw the ball farther. Maybe that's why you connect to Noche so much. He doesn't have any legs to trip over."

"Oh, shut up, Leilah." John pouts in his seat. I laugh and turn on the radio.

"-and today is expected to be a lovely day. The start of school for many college kids at Runeterra University is expected to be peaceful, though you never when the college of Noxus and Demacia will start up a fight. The sun is shining and freshman are expected to appear in half an hour. Professors Heimerdinger and Jayce are eagerly waiting for the new arrivals. All the colleges and their subjects will be displayed in the courtyard, as well as extracurriculars. Now for those driving down the streets, make sure to keep your eyes on the road. Now, enjoy our radio as we play some music to make your day exciting." The reporter states before playing Don't stop believing. John snorts.

"Well, we'll be right on time, ten minutes before everything opens. Just like Mom taught us." John remarks as he looks outside.

"Which college do you look forward to?" I start a casual conversation with my brother.

"I mean, Demacia Duh. You know I want to be a physical trainer when I graduate. Noxus is a bit too… businessy for me. Have you picked a college yet?"

"Uh, no. They all have such good interests."

"Including the college of Shadow Isles?"

"They have the best history classes there. Everything is solidified by pictures and facts. There's very little bias. I heard that Professor Mordekaiser is incredibly strict, but he's always happy to host a discussion." I protest.

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Bilgewater?"

"No one knows statistics or gambling better then they do."

"Even the Freljord college?"

"Some of the best artists came from that college."

"You're crazy, sister." John relaxes into his seat. "I don't understand what your interest is in each of them."

"It's not that I don't have an interest, it's that I just… I don't know what I want to focus on." I explain.

"Well, you got four years to figure it out." John goes silent again as I keep driving. We reach the parking lot. I park in a far corner. "Why so far away?"

"Because you annoyed me and I can always use the exercise." I retort before grabbing one of his sport bags.

"Thank you kindly, sis. Nasus! Ez!" John yells over to his best friends from high school. Both notice him and come over quickly. Ezreal notices me carrying a heavy bag and takes it from me.

"Starshadow, how dare you make such a beautiful lady carry your smelly shit?" Ezreal flirts with me. I roll my eyes. He's such a playboy, but he was the fastest person on John's team. Once he caught the football, it was like he teleported his way across the field. He also has told me in private that I'm like a sister to him, so we occasionally flirt just to mess with him.

"Leave my sister alone." John states absentmindedly while trying to reach for his bag.

"What? How could I leave such a celestial beauty alone?" Ezreal dramatically pretends to faint.

"Ezreal, enough. The Demacia college for medicine is going to open soon. We are expected to be there. And I assume we will be helping you figure out what you want to do?" Nasus asks me. A tall, serious guy that no one can get through. He's why my brother can clearly throw a ball to Ez every single time, even when he trips. With these three, no one could beat them. Even when they focused on them, no one could stop them.

"Thank you, Nasus. How's your brother?" I ask politely.

"Renekton is being a little… difficult. I wish he'd stop hanging around the Xerath Gang so often. I don't like how they're making him so violent. He loves architecture. Now he's telling me he wants to be in the gang and going to the college of Noxus. If he can even get here." Nasus sighs. I barely manage to pat his shoulder. Bloody giant.

"He'll get back to normal, Nasus. He loves you and hates disappointing you." I try to comfort him.

"I hope he does." Nasus nods. We start to walk away when another boy crashes into me. He knocks me onto the ground. John quickly comes to help me up, almost throwing the boy off my back. I get a quick glance at him. He has a sharply angled face, half a goatee on his face, and his hair pulled back into a bushy ponytail. He's wearing loose yoga pants and a blue t-shirt. I almost feel jealous of his casual dressing.

"Yasuo!" A sharp, smooth voice calls out. The man that crashed into me winces. He stands up quickly and offers a hand to help me up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. The first day of school, I hope I can get into the sword extracurricular. Gotta hurry, lots sign up and there's a limited spot." Yasuo pulls me up. I wipe myself off. I hiss when my hands sting. John quickly checks my hands. There's small scratches on them. A pair of larger hands come into view with some gauze. I look up to see a man similar to Yasuo, only his face is longer, his goatee covering his entire face, and his hair tied up neatly in a loop. The only hair left free is a bit of tastefully neat hair that dangles over his face. His brown eyes are focused on treating my scratched hands. He finishes bandaging my hands quicker than I expected. Or maybe that I'm just stunned from how gorgeous he is.

"I apologize for my brother. He's excited." He finally looks into my eyes and blinks curiously. "...You have rather unique eyes."

"I-I-I get that alot." I stammer. I feel my cheeks heat up. I also feel John's eyes glance over at me before he extends a hand.

"The name's John. John Starshadow. I go by Starshadow. This is my twin, Leilah, my best friends Ezreal and Nasus." John introduces us. Yasuo comes over and shakes all our hands. He finishes with me.

"I'm sorry for knocking you over. I really was just excited." Yasuo apologizes.

"That's ok. I can understand being excited. If I was anything like you, I'd probably be racing too." I smile sweetly. He's as hypnotized as his brother.

"You have beautiful eyes." Yasuo remarks.

"She gets that alot. And why doesn't anyone comment on my eyes?" John jokes. Ez and Nasus give little snickers. John's attracted to them too. What can I say? Twins to the core.

"I mean, you have pretty cool eyes too, but I've never seen eyes like hers." Yasuo peers even closer. I feel a bit uncomfortable and take a step back. John notices and stands behind me.

"Do you mind?" John has a dark tone in his voice, no longer joking. Yasuo seems to come back to reality and looks away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize." Yasuo panics a little bit when he notices my shyness.

"It's ok. Your reaction is certainly a lot more… welcome than others might be." I whisper. John hugs me and kisses my head. The bell tolls, signaling the start of the day. My eyes widen. I look at my brother's equally horrified eyes.

"We're late!" We yelp at the same time. I quickly grab my brother's football gear and start to run. Naturally, all the football players easily keep up with me. They even pass me. Jerks. What surprises me is when Yasuo and the gorgeous man pass the football players. Yasuo throws a salute as he runs by.

"Why did you park so far away again?" John repeats.

"I told you, I was annoyed and thought we had time!" I yell back and try to keep up. John easily grabs his stuff from me as he passes by. I'm out of breath by the time we get to the gate of the campus. A security guy stands in front. I'm panting on my knees as I watch Yasuo and the man walk inside. Yasuo is almost tugging his brother into the courtyard full of stands. They quickly disappear among the crowd.

"ID?" He asks us. John looks ready to panic when I pull both of our ID's out.

"Leilah and John Starshadow. Nasus Ptolemy. Ezreal Lightfeather." I hand my twin's and my ID. Nasus and Ez pull out theirs and hand them over. The security guard checks each one of the ID's with our pictures.

"...All clear. Go ahead, enter." He gestures us through. John grabs his gear and runs through. Nasus and Ez follow.

"I'll see you later, sis! Don't forget lunch!" John calls out before disappearing into the crowd. I sigh and just start to walk around, taking in all the sights that the courtyard has to offer.

The first college that I see is the College of Targon. I look at their classes. They specialize in cultures. Some focuses are on astronomy, foreign cultures, and foreign languages. Astronomy definitely peaks my interest.

"Welcome to Runeterra University. I see you picked up one of our brochures. Anything on there interest you?" A brown haired woman asks me.

"I like the stars." I whisper shyly.

"Well, the college of Targon would be the best place if you want to learn. Go ahead, take it. I'm Leona, if you ever have any questions. My best friend, Diana, she has silver hair that she likes to pull in a ponytail. She's got silver eyes, so she's easy to identify." Leona offers. I glance up.

"Why are her eyes silver?" I ask. Big mistake.

"She was born like that. Genetic defect. You have some very pretty eyes." She remarks. She tries to get closer, but I avert my eyes and step back. She immediately picks up on my discomfort. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's ok. I guess I'll be just as recognizable." I smile shyly, hoping to calm everything down.

"Well, I'll tell Diana to keep an eye out. In the meantime, enjoy." Leona waves me off. I smile keep walking. I walk past Shurima, knowing their skills in architecture and crafts. Uncle Azir is the head of the college there after all. Ixtal's stand holds some of the most beautiful plants as a part of their section. I lean down and smell the roses.

"Hello, there." A gravelly voice greets me. I jump a little bit to face a red haired woman with golden green eyes. She smiles with rosy red lips. "I apologize, are you a freshman?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Welcome to the College of Ixtal. We have some of the best botanical and biology courses offered in the world. Are you interested in Biology?"

"I don't know what I want to major in, to be honest."

"Oh, that's alright. Take a brochure. And here." The woman plucks a flower from the roze and plops it in my hair. "Something to remember us by. My name's Zyra if you ever have any questions." She waves me away. I wave back and keep going through the other college stands. Piltover has great technological courses. Zaun is great for genetics. I stayed for a while there as all the members of Zaun took a lot of time trying to figure out how my genes were created to get the half color and cracked effects. I felt uncomfortable the whole time I was there. Someone insisted on taking pictures of my eyes. I let them just to get them to let me leave.

The college of Shadow Isles was dark. The leader there, Khalista, started a very interesting discussion on World War II, where Hitler could have lived. She gave me a brochure and offered to hold more discussion like that over the course of the day. Bilgewater had games on their stands. Poker, chess, any gambling game they had. Their representative, Pyke, crushed everyone. Not even their second representative, Gangplank, could beat him. I tried a hand at chess, challenging him personally. I was the only person to have brought him to a tie in the morning. He looks at me, impressed, handing me another brochure and telling me he'd come find me for a few games. I feel a little bit grateful that he didn't mention anything about my eyes.

The college head of Noxus showed up. With all his impressive business ventures, even a local coffee shop called the Demon of Secrets (They have the best coffee. Even I would go have their coffee, and I despise it), he is certainly a force in the world of business. He calmly hands out brochures. When he hands out mine, he raises an eyebrow before nodding and looking to the next student. I walk away, a little wallflower.

The Demacia school of medicine is being incredibly loud. I spot John and his best friends animatedly chatting with new people. John sees me out of the corner of his eye and waves me over. I roll my eyes and come to stand next to him.

"Here's my twin, the one and only Leilah. One hell of a looker, but I'll beat anyone's ass if they so much as bruise her." John introduces me. I smack his chest.

"Really, John?"

"Leilah, it's Starshadow here! I don't want to use a lame name like John." My brother whines.

"Deal with it. You were a john to me when I was three, you are a John to me when I'm eighteen. And why do you guys all act like football players?" I cross my arms. Ez and Nasus laugh.

"Even if they are medical, they have some of the best parties." Nasus explains.

"You tell him, girl. And then we can go on our date? ' Ezreal teases me. I laugh and nod enthusiastically.

"Oh course. Demon of Secrets?"

"Your… Well hello, gorgeous." Ezreal whistles as he looks over my shoulder I turn around to see that he spotted a beautiful blond girl with the brightest blue eyes. I look back to laugh at Ezreal's dumbstruck face.

"Why are you looking at my sister like that?" A tall, broad man with brown hair and eyes asks Ezreal. Ezreal jumps.

"That's your sister? She's too gorgeous to be your sister!" Ezreal blurts out. John smirks.

"What about me and mine?" John asks, pulling me in.

"Hell, both of you are gorgeous. I don't care about that. That girl, I'm gonna ask her out." Ezreal slicks back his hair, but it still looks nowhere near as good as John's 'sexy messiness'. "Wish me luck."

"Remember, no means no." I tease. The man tenses until he hears us laugh. John wipes his tears before introducing me to the big guy.

"Leilah, this is the captain of the team, Garen Crownguard. He's studying to be a doctor, getting his undergrad degree here. Garen, my sister, Leilah Starshadow, the smartest, sassiest, and shyest girl you could ever meet." John pulls me forward. I offer my hand. Garen's hand engulfs mine as he shakes it. "That reminds me, you have lunch?"

"Is that all you care about? Me bringing you food?" I tease as I pull out our sandwiches Father made us. John happily takes his and mine. "Hey!"

"I am a growing boy, Leilah. I need my food!"

"I'm smart, John, I need that food to think. I know it's a hard concept for you, but please try and understand." Nasus coughs into his elbow, familiar with our banter. Garen just watches in shock.

"Rude."

"Dull. Give me back my sandwich!"

"Alright, alright! Fine, you win. Besides, yours has pickles. Blech." John hands me back my sandwich. I take a happy chomp out of it.

"Thank you. Pleasure to meet you Garen. John's told me all about the medical section, so if you don't mind, I still have a few colleges to visit. Freljord and Ionia. Bye." I wave as I walk away.

"See you later." John muffles through his food.

"Swallow then speak!" I call out. I head north, where the Freljord College of Art has beautiful ice structures. A girl, her nametag saying Sejuani, is talking to another girl. Borh have beautiful white hair. I subconsciously play with mine.

"We do more than just ice sculptures and painting. We have ceramics, 3D art, and even glass blowing, but that is an advanced class. You'll have to wait a few years before you can take it.

"Are you taking it?" The girl asks.

"Yep. My favorite class ever. Look." Sejuani pulls out a ball of glass stained with different hues of light blue. It almost looks like a blizzard trapped in glass.

"Wow. You made that?" The girl next to me asks.

"Yep. Made it last semester. It was my first time blowing glass, and I'm really pleased with how good it looks." Sejuani displays proudly. She finally notices me and widen her eyes. "You look like a starry night sky with a borealis below."

"I'm sorry?" I stammer. The other girl turns to me. She stares at me too.

"Your eyes, they're inspirational. Mind if I take a picture? I'd love to try and replicate the patterns." Sejuani asks. I nod my head slowly. She whips out her phone and snaps a picture.

"You ok? You seem… Shy." The other girl asks.

"I'd prefer to have my brother with me. I've never actually been alone without him for long." I explain with a shrug.

"Oh, well, would you like to come with me? My name is Ashe. I only have one place I'd like to look at. I haven't decided what I want to do yet."

"I only have one last college to visit as well. Ionia?"

"Exactly. Wanna come with me?" Ashe offers.

"Sure. My name's Leilah. Leilah Starshadow." I shake her hand. Her eyebrows furrow.

"Starshadow, like the quarterback from Rakkor High?" She asks.

"That's my brother."

"Oh, wow, to have a brother like that! Can you introduce him to me at some point. I'd love to talk logistics about his throws." Ashe squeals a little bit.

"That's easy. He trips on half of them, so he gets a little extra oomph." I snort. She laughs lightly.

"I don't think that's it, but it's funny." Ashe and I talk about my brother the whole way. She's very happy to have someone to talk to. She talks about his throws, I talk about his personality. Before I even realize it, we're at the stands for Ionia. I hear yelling and shouting. I follow the noise to see a bunch of people holding wood swords. Some pairs are attacking, some are standing still. I spot a very familiar bushy ponytail. He's striking at his opponent, fast and furious. His opponent falls with a thud on some mattresses. Yasuo wipes the sweat off his brow before helping his opponent up. The man that helped me from before pats Yasuo's shoulder. I didn't realize it, but I've walked right up to them.

"Hello." I wave my hands shyly. Yasuo and the man notice me.

"Hello again, Leilah." The man starts the conversation. I blush a little bit.

"I, uh, don't think I got your name earlier. I mean, I heard you call out Yasuo's name, but I never got yours." I start strong, but fall as I keep talking.

"My apologies. I'm Yone. And, for a proper greeting, this is my younger brother, Yasuo. I'm the captain of the Kendo club and one of the representatives for Ionia. Are you enjoying your time here?" Yone asks.

"Well, it's all a bit overwhelming, to be honest. There's so many different courses that are interesting in so many different colleges, I don't know which one to pick." I stammer out. The man turns my hands over and checks my bandages. I bite my lips as he checks his handiwork.

"Ionia is a place of creativity and meditation. We provide excellent writing courses and host the most amount of Extrcurricular activities. You seem to be doing quite well."

"I would have thought that Targon would have the most. Don't they have the cultures?"

"They do, but they don't tend to go deeper. In the College of Ionia, we practice any and all activities that can bring peace of mind and creativity to the student." Yone glances into my eyes briefly. I feel even shyer. Thankfully, Yasuo interrupts us before I can turn too red.

"Sorry again, Leilah. I didn't mean to knock you over, I was just excited." Yasuo rubs the back of his neck.

"It's alright. My brother is a star quarterback. If I can handle him practicing his tackles on me, I think I can handle being knocked-"

_BOOM!_


	2. Opening Up

The ground shakes under our feet as an explosion happens. Ashe stays on her feet. I struggle to remain standing but ultimately fall forward. Yone gracefully catches me. I blush a little bit, remaining in his arms until the tremors stop. They take a moment before they do. I quickly hop out, completely embarrassed to be the only one that couldn’t stay up.

“Sorry about that. Now I’m like John.” I stammer, completely embarrassed.  _ Of all people, it had to be Yone. First the parking lot, and now this. What’s next? I fall down some stairs and land on top of him? _

“No worries. I will admit, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard a Piltover invention go off that strongly.” Yone waves my apology off. Ashe looks between the two of us before fighting to hold down a smirk. I want to glare at her, but I decide it’s not worth the effort.

“So, Ionia. Interesting to you, Leilah?” Ashe asks. She nudges my side. I quickly and subtly try to stop her.

“Honestly, anything is of interest to me. I’m undeclared.” I try not to play with my hair.

“That’s neat. Yone’s doing diplomacy. Cool, calm, and collected. That’s my older brother.” Yasuo pats Yone’s shoulder. Yone gives Yasuo a look of complete annoyance.

“Yes. Whereas you are in the same boat as Leilah here.” Yone points out.

“Well, I got in here because you insisted. Maybe I’ll study education or cultures. I would rather be a kendo teacher though.” Yasuo protests.

“There are other options than just being a teacher at a dojo.”

“Yeah, but that’s what I want to do.” Yasuo sounds a little tired.

“You could be so much more.” Yone sounds exasperated. I can’t help. I see red.

“Leave him alone. It’s his choice what he wants to do. Leave him be. Some people get more satisfaction from a smaller job than being a millionaire. Yasuo can be one of them.” I snap. Yone raises an eyebrow at my aggressiveness.

“He is capable of so much more.” Yone argues with me.  _ Oh, I don’t care how handsome you look, you do not get to talk about someone like that. Even if it’s your brother and the two of you are total strangers… What am I getting myself into? _

“I’m capable of being the next leading geneticist. I’m also capable of becoming the first woman president. Either of them I don’t want to do. Why can’t that logic apply to Yasuo?” I retort.

“I’m not asking him to become a leader, I’m just saying that he can do so much better elsewhere.”

“Nope. If he’s happy where he is, he’s happy where he is.”

“He’ll regret it later.”

“You don’t know that!” I don’t even realize that I’ve been stepping forward until Yone is right over my head. Still, I don’t back down. “My brother and I, our Mother had jobs planned for the two of us. I was to follow in her footsteps, John was to be a security person. She gave up after we were nine because she doesn’t get to decide what we get to do. Hell, I don’t decide what John does and neither does he me. John knows John better than I do. I’m sure Yasuo knows himself better than you do.”

“I helped raise him.”

“You’re what, two years older? John and I have been in each other’s lives since the beginning. I still don’t know what kind of person he’d go for or what he would be great at. Twelve years old he threw his first pass in football while tripping and somehow managed to get his team to victory. You would have never guessed it from how often he trips. Sometimes I can predict, sometimes it’s out of the blue. It’s still his choice. I don’t get to push him to where I want him to go. And the same should be with you and Yasuo.” I cross my arms, finished. Yone stares back at me, contemplating my words. I see Yasuo’s mouth gaped open out of the corner of my eye. Ashe leans towards him.

“...And that’s their first couple’s argument.” I hear Ashe whisper. My cheeks instantly turn red as I glare at her. She says it quietly enough that Yone doesn’t hear her, thankfully. Yasuo snorts and covers his mouth, trying to disguise his amusement in a cough.

“Ashe! We just met today!” I groan. Ashe holds her hands up.

“I’ve been living with my mother, who’s a senator for our state, my whole life. She learned how to read people and taught me the same. I still stand by what I said.” Ashe shrugs her shoulders.

“What did she say?” Yone asks.

“Nothing at all. Tell me, are there any archery clubs around here?” Ashe smoothly transitions to a new topic. I want to sag in relief. Yasuo’s still struggling to hold in his laughter.

“There’s two. One’s a professional Archery club. They compete in tournaments every year. They haven’t won a tournament recently, but they always welcome new members that are serious enough to compete. The other is just shooting arrows tipped with painted tennis balls. There’s a couple of artworks in the building that were created from that club.” Yone informs us.

“There’s a club like that?” I feel flabbergasted that it’s an actual club.

“A few years ago an archery student was drained from competing. She loved to shoot but didn’t want to be so serious all the time. She got a bunch of art kids together and got them slingshots. They threw paint filled balloons at each other. Lots of people liked it. They grew to have paint wars. Anything and everything that can tag paint on their opponent is allowed as long as the worst injury is a paintball.”

“That sounds like a blast! What’s the club called?” Ashe squeals.

“Paint wars. Sejuani is in charge of it now.”

“Thank you for that, by the way.” Yasuo murmurs in my ear as they keep talking about Paint wars. Apparently, they’re starting a new position, medic, this year. It certainly sounds like fun.

“For what?” I ask innocently.

“Defending me. Mom is of the same opinion as Yone. Both of them think I’m wasting my potential being a kendo master, but I just love the art of the sword too much.” Yasuo shakes my hand. “If you ever need help getting a date with Yone, I’m your man.”

“I’m not looking for a date here! What is with you and Ashe? I’ve literally only known you two and Yone for less than twenty four hours!” I flush.

“You got the feeling of being a good friend. Besides, I’ve never seen Yone look so flustered being yelled at by a girl before.” Yasuo bursts into snickers. I glare at him.

“Really?” I snap. He falls on his knees, unable to stop laughing. Thankfully he gets himself under control quickly.

“Well, you want to join that club? It honestly sounds like a ton of fun.” Yasuo asks.

“I’m not much of a violent person.” I wave it off.

“They have a position where you can’t hurt anyone.”

“Not my cup of tea.” I repeat, a little bit firmer.

“Ok. Just saying, we may not get to see each other often. That club is one I’d join. Sounds like Ashe might as well. Think of the club as a way to hang out with us.” Yasuo relents.

“...I might join.” I finally give in as well. He’s right. I have no idea what I want to study. I could be going to any college and may never see them again. They are pretty cool people though. I’d like to get to know them better. _ I haven’t wanted to know someone outside of my brother’s friends in years. Not since I was nine… _

“Sweet. Besides, you can just stand on the side and watch too. Just be around when the club is in session.” Yasuo holds out a fist for a bump. 

“Maybe I will do that. Maybe I can get John to come see.” I smile and give it to him. We just keep talking, the four of us. It’s really nice. At some point, Ashe and Yasuo move to stand next to each other. I’m standing next to Yone. We’re all just enjoying ourselves when someone covers my eyes. I squeak.

“So this is where you’ve been the entire time? What happened to eating lunch together?” John laughs. I ram my elbow into his gut. He lets out a groan and dramatically falls down to the ground. The other two of John’s trio chuckle while my new friends give loud laughs.

“I thought you weren’t violent.” Yasuo gasps out.

“I’m not. That was sibling rivalry.” I deflect.

“You deserved that, you know.” Nasus remarks.

“Why are you on her side? I’m your best friend.” John whines.

“Because she’s been helping us pass our classes on top of hers.” Ez remarks before he throws an arm around my shoulders. Ashe and Yasuo raise an eyebrow. “How have you been, Beautiful?”

“I was enjoying making new friends when your speedy ass joined in.” I grumble good naturedly. Ez laughs and kisses my head before ruffling it. Yone tenses.

“Well, wherever there’s a beautiful lady, I have to say hello. Speaking of which…” Ezreal slips easily off of me and gently grabs Ashe’s hand for a charming kiss. She blushes quite a bit. “What sort of beauty do we have here? One that the skies would gift to a mere mortal like myself the pleasure of even being near your perfection?” Ashe stares at his, her face bright red. It’s clear she has no idea what to do.

“You are really laying it on thick, Ez. Don’t make my new friend combust.” I roll my eyes with a laugh. Yasuo looks between Yone and I rapidly before he covers his face again.

“Wait, Ez? As part of the famous high school football trio?” Ashe finally connects to dots. Ez goes into an even deeper bow.

“It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness.” He is even more dramatic than before.

“...Ashe.” She meekly introduces herself. I burst into laughter. She glares at me slightly.

“Just saying, he’s a playboy. He’ll flirt with anyone.” I explain.

“He’s not with anyone?” Yone speaks up. There’s an odd tone in his voice. I look at him a little bit confused. Yone himself looks uneasy with how he sounds.

“No one can tie this bad boy down. Besides, I’m waiting for Leilah to accept our love.” Ez smirks. Yone’s eyes narrow a tiny bit.

“Stop it, Ez.” John interrupts. If Ashe looked like she was over the moon with Ez, her jaw’s practically drops to the ground. He offers his hand to her.

“Starshadow. I see you met my sister.” John introduces himself.

“...Ashe…” She almost whispers. I burst into laughter, falling on my knees. For someone who was happy to tease me, she’s certainly making it easy for me. Ashe glares at me with a glint in her eyes.

“Leilah, you shouldn’t laugh at other people.” John mock scolds me.

“She… started it!” I gasp out. Yasuo nods in agreement.

“Well, I’m glad I found you. I’m starved and you have the food in your backpack.” John turns back to me. He easily pulls me to my feet and starts to ruffle through. I scramble to find a purchase. “Where are they?”

“Why don’t you let me down and I can give it to you?” I snap. Ez pops in front of my face and makes a smirk.

“Oh, come on, Leilah, you look absolutely adorable with that face. So grumpy” Ez teases. Nasus grabs Ez by his jacket and lifts him up as well. Ez glares at Nasus. I laugh.

“Oh, come on, Ez, you look absolutely adorable with that face. So grumpy” I quote him. He shoots me a glare. John makes a noise of satisfaction and drops me. I struggle to stay on my feet when an arm offers itself to help me. I grab it easily. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Yone drops his arm back down to his side. I turn around. John has already started eating his meatball sub before handing me my pb&j. I happily take a bite. I never realized how hungry I am until I started eating.

“Hey, for those that didn’t bring food, share!” Ez complains. He reaches for John’s sub. John easily dodges.

“Should have thought of it before. See, even Nasus brought a snack!” John points at our friend who was trying to quietly snack on chips. Nasus freezes. Ez just sighs.

“Well, if it’s almost lunch time, I have a break. Why don’t we go to the Demon of Secret’s place here?” Yone offers. 

“They have one here?” I perk up as I finish the sandwich.

“No. You do not get caffeine.” John immediately scolds me. Yone raises an eyebrow while Ashe looks like she’s getting some good dirt on me.  _ You watch it, Ashe… _

“Why would it be bad for her to have caffeine?” Yasuo asks.

“No reason.” I try to be innocent.

“Uh huh. Last time you had coffee at noon you stayed up until two asking me to play chess and make it hard for you. No.” John points his finger in my face. I pout.

“Vanilla latte?” I compromise.

“That, I can handle. You got money?” John asks. I reach into my backpack and pull out my wallet.

“Wallet in your gym bags?” I sigh.

“I hate that you know me so well…” John grumbles. I giggle before looking at Yone.

“Could you take us to the Demon of Secrets on campus? We’ve never visited the place here.”

“Sure. Let me just check with Akali that I’m ok to do so.” Yone nods his head before raising his hand. A girl with hair that looks like an open fan notices and nods. He turns back and starts to walk us away from the courtyard. Ashe happily latches onto Nasus, asking about how he could handle being tackled by so many people. He is responding, looking a bit uncomfortable with all of Ashe’s questions.

“Ashe, let my favorite of my brother’s trio have some air.” I call over my shoulder. Ashe sticks her tongue out before apologizing. Nasus relaxes. John and Ez gasp.

“I thought I was your favorite!” Both of them cry out. Yasuo snorts. Yone’s mouth twitches in amusement. John and Ez glare at each other before trying to fight. I quickly walk between them.

“Alright, you two. We have company. Now act like the semi adults I know you are and stop making my new friends think you are children in university.” I scold.

“But Leilah, that’s exactly what we are. Children in University.” John protests. He ruffles my hair. I playfully glare at him before jumping on his back. John, being the little shit that he is, helps me stay there. I rest my head against his back. “I’m not your taxi.”

“You’re not dropping me!” I protest.

“True. I’m not your taxi, I’m your warden.” John corrects. 

“Oh, let me go already!” I pound on his shoulder.

“Not if you're giving me a free shoulder massage.” John teases.

“Are they always like this?” I hear Yasuo whisper to Nasus.

“Yep! And proud of it!” I call over my shoulder. Yasuo looks to Nasus for verification. Nasus nods with a sigh.

“Honestly, it’s better that they are like this. Believe it or not, they used to fight worse than cats and dogs.” Nasus starts.

“Really? You can’t tell with how they act now.” Ashe remarks. I feel my blood run a little bit cold.

“Oh, definitely not right now, but they hated each other until they were nine.” Ez hops into the conversation.

“What happened at nine?” Yone asks, joining in the conversation.

“You’d have to ask them. In kindergarten, I remember that Leilah would always scream whenever Starshadow came anywhere close to her. And Starshadow would always throw whatever he could get his hands on when he spotted Leilah. Part of why he’s the star quarterback, I guess. They kept fighting, their arguments could make anyone’s head hurt. Then in fourth grade, everything changed after the summer. Starshadow would, well, shadow his sister every single day. Sometimes when Starshadow went to the bathroom and didn’t tell Leilah, Leilah would curl in a corner and just not move. The teachers had to get Starshadow to come back and hug her to get her to move. If anyone startled her, Leilah would curl where she was and just not move. Starshadow would hear and snap at whoever scared her. It didn’t matter who it was, he scared them all off. Eventually, it was just the two of them against the world. Then sixth grade happened. Everyone knew that Starshadow had the best arm, and everyone wanted him to try out. He actually said no, saying that he wanted to be with Leilah. Leilah was the one to get her brother to go to try-outs. We met him there. For all of that grade, Starshadow, our star quarterback, would always arrive last and leave first because of her. Nasus and I, we tried our best to get along with him since our skills were most compatible, but he wouldn’t let us talk to him. He just wanted to stay by his sister’s side.” Ez explains/

“What caused such a drastic change?” Ashe whispers.

“We don’t know. We never pressured them. It took us a year before Leilah would talk to us. Starshadow was more open to becoming friends when he heard Leilah laugh. He confessed to us in secret that it had been years since he heard her laugh. We became super close once they let us in. She’s learned how to be happy and bright, but it’s obvious that she is most comfortable when she knows that Starshadow is around. She would never let us do that to her if he wasn’t here. You three are the first people she would talk to without him hovering.”

“Really?” Yasuo sounds very curious.

“Yeah. Things happened in fourth grade. I got tired of being so scared in seventh grade. I was tired of being scared. Nasus and Ez were the only ones that persisted, trying to be friends with John. After a year, they had done everything they could, but John can be stubborn. I went up and started to chat. They were incredibly kind and gentle with me. John decided that they were ok and we became very close friends soon after.” I whisper. They sense that this was a hard topic for me and shut up. Ez rubs my back.

“We’re proud of you, by the way.” Nasus, the man of few words, speaks up.

“I know. And thank you. For being so patient that year.” I hold his hand tightly.

“No problem. Sadly, no girls were interested in us that year, so we had all the time in the world to focus on you two.” Ez supports us in his own way.

“Will you ever be able to tell what happened?” Ashe asks.

“I already have. I told John. And I probably won’t be telling anymore than him.” I pat my brother’s shoulder.

“You should really tell someone else though, Leilah. It would probably be for the best.” John states.

“You mind your own business.” I smack his shoulder.

“Hard to do that when you're talking in my ear.” John retorts.

“Would you like me to shut up then?” I mock threaten.

“Please, once we got you talking, you couldn’t shut up.”

“It’s nice to see you have such a close bond.” Yasuo interrupts.

“Honestly, I never would have thought that I would have this either. He’s my best friend, twin, and closest confidant. I wouldn’t change it for the world.” I hug him tightly. John presses his head against mine.

“So, what’s your relationship with them all?” Ashe asks me. I push on John to let me down until he does so.

“They’re all family, to be honest. John’s my twin. Ez is like my goofy brother and when the two of them get too much, I can always talk to Nasus. He’s quiet and very nice. Sure he isn’t as loud as the others, but we connect more through the understanding of silence.” I explain.

“Sounds great having such amazing people in your life.” Ashe sounds a bit wistful.

“Don’t you?” I ask.

“Not really. My mother is of old traditions. She arranged a marriage for me with a guy named Tryndamere Freljord. His family was part of the original founders. She arranges my friends too. I never got to have my own friend before.” Ashe plays with her bracelet. I link my arm into hers.

“Well, welcome to being a legal adult. What do you think about Tryndamere?”

“Girl talk! Run for the hills!” John playfully yells. I roll my eyes as the guys all crowd Yone and pull him forward. Yone has the look of deer in headlights.

“Mature!” I yell. John flips me the bird. I stick my tongue out at him before continuing to converse with Ashe. “Still curious.”

“He’s… He’s ok. He’s built like a boxer, all muscles and stuff. He’s got some amazing eyes, but… I don’t feel anything for him. I haven’t felt anything for anyone, so it’s hard.” Ashe’s hands get very busy with her bracelet. I hold them to get her attention. When she finally looks up, I smile at her.

“Well, maybe you just need to get to know him more.”

“He’s four years older than me. He’s already running a business.” Ashe hangs her head again.

“Did you grow up knowing him?”

“Not really.”

“Then maybe you should try to. You never know if it could turn out well for you.” 

“Maybe. Thanks, Leilah.”

“Anytime. Oh, that was exciting, never gave out girl advice before!” I tap my chin thoughtfully. “Did I do a good job?”

“Pretty good.”

“Good to hear.”

“Mind if I give out some of my own?” Ashe asks.

“Uh, sure?”

“Ask Yone on a date in about a month.”

“WHAT?” I yelp. The boys all look back at us. I’m blushing from head to toe.

“Beautiful, have you finally decided to take our love to the next level?” Ez can’t resist. John can’t resist hitting his friend on the head either.

“Go back to talking about sports!” I snap. They snicker and shrug their shoulders before continuing to talk. I turn back to Ashe. “I barely know him!”

“Oh, I know, but you two definitely have some attraction to each other. As I said, take some time to know him. If I’m wrong and you don’t want to go on a date, I’ll buy you coffee, the way you like it, and Starshadow won’t stop us.” Ashe bargains. Very tempting, getting coffee and John being unable to stop me. He will pay for holding my coffee hostage.

“And if you’re right?”

“You can get me my favorite drink. Iced hot cocoa.” Ashe looks dead serious.

“You’re kidding me. You like iced cocoa?” I gasp.

“Yeah, so?”

“... You are weirder than I.” I comment.

“Says the one with a mysterious background?” Ashe points out.

“...Touche. Wait up, guys!” I yell. I grab Ashe’s hand and pull her back to the group. Somehow I get John’s clumsiness and trip over something. I crash into Yone’s back. He catches me easily and helps me to my feet. I hear Yasuo snicker from somewhere behind me. I strategically slam my heel on his foot as I stand up. I don’t have to look to know he’s almost in tears.

“For someone who doesn’t like violence, you sure can hurt a bit.” Yasuo whines.

“Are you alright? From what I heard, your brother is more trip happy than you are.” Yone asks. He tactfully ignores his brother.

“Yeah. I don’t know what… I tripped… on.” I hear snickers behind me. I casually look behind to see Ez being the cause of the noise, his foot still out to the side. John looks ready to murder. Nasus and Ashe are both shaking their heads, knowing that this could end badly. Yasuo is giving Ez a fist bump while trying not to hop on one leg. I glare at them all.

“Too early guys.” Ashe remarks quietly as she comes to my side. “Ez was being a child. Sorry, Leilah.”

“You are certainly earning your place as my new best friend.” I hug her happily. John and Ez both let out mournful cries. Yone gives a soft smile. The rest of our short trip to the shop is filled with banter and friendly discussions of getting to know each other.

“...It’s beautiful.” Ez whispers. I can’t help but agree. For a coffee shop, the Demon of Secrets is practically a palace. There’s booths on one side, stands and high chairs in the back, and a bench against the windows inside. The counter to get coffee is lined with beautiful, mouth-watering desserts. It’s like heaven has come down and blessed the place. It’s tastefully black and red, Professor Swaine’s favorite colors. One wall is covered in teams from the football teams. Another wall is covered with basketball teams. I look closer at the football team. I spot Father in one of the pictures. I reach out and touch it.

“Someone you know?” Yone asks. I jump a little bit before nodding. 

“This is my Father. Right here.” I point out my small father in the group of big men.

“That’s your father? I would have thought him to be a bit… well bigger.” I murmurs, looking at my colossal brother.

“Geneticist for a mother, remember? She chose all his genes just like she did mine. She wanted a big strong son and a small smart daughter.” I shrug my shoulders.

“Does it bother you, being in a mold?” Yone asks me out of the blue.

“Why would it?” I reply nervously.

“You hated it when I mentioned that Yasuo should be something more. You certainly used your personal experiences, but is there more to it than meets the eye?”

“...You need to be less observant.” I mumble.

“Does it also have anything to do with your past?”

“That is a story for a never day.” I snap. John hears us and walks over. He wraps his arm around Yone.

“Can I talk to you for a second, man?” John is pulling Yone away before Yone can answer. I walk over to the counter. Our entire group is looking over the options they have.

“Is this place a coffee shop or a restaurant?” I ask a cashier.

“Oh, it’s a coffee shop, but this place is where Professor Swaine likes to get his beverages and food. Everything is top notch for the greatest professor. I’m Draven by the way.” The cashier introduces himself.

“So, everything is up to his standard? That must be difficult.” I remark, leaning against the counter. John and Yone rejoin our group, Yone looking more curious than before.

“Eh, it’s not bad. As long as everything is clean and the food and drinks are good, he practically lets the business students run the place. It’s a pretty cool place. Some of the students have even been able to submit their food and have it on display. You see that lava cake?” Draven points out a beautiful chocolate cake topped with caramel popcorn.

“Of course I do. It’s beautiful.” I feel my mouth start to salivate a bit.

“One of my friends made that. Professor Swaine actually bought the recipe from her and gives her money based on how well it sells.” Draven boasts.

“Really? That sounds like he has a ton of cash.” I gasp.

“But of course. We also sell lunch items. Does your group know what they want to get yet?”

“Well, they are deciding on what to get to eat. I’d like a small vanilla latte and a small caramel espresso please.” I order. He punches my order into a device.

“That’ll be eight seventy four, please.” I pull out my credit card. He swipes my card. I hear it ding as it accepts. He turns the device to me and hands me an electronics pen. “Sign here.” I take the stylus and sign my name. I hand it back to him. “Thank you for coming to Demon of Secrets. Could I get your number?”

“We’re ready to order.” John wraps his arm around me. Draven takes notice and politely backs up.

“Hope to see you in a business class. Your order will arrive at the end of the counter.” Draven points me to a spot on the other end of the counter with a sign saying pick up here.

“Thank you. John, I already ordered for you. Father made you lunch after all.” I grab his ear and pull him with me. 

“But that desert! The one with popcorn.” John whines.

“Get a job and you can buy yourself that stuff.” I retort and find a booth that can fit seven people. There’s a round table that could possibly work, especially with people like Nasus and John. Those two can certainly stand to lose some size. I wiggle into the exact middle of the round booth. John slides into the spot to my left. Ashe grabs her order and quickly claims the spot next to me. Ez comes next. I can already tell it’s a mocha espresso and the desert I saw earlier. It’s like he doesn’t have enough energy every other day. Ez claims the seat next to Ashe.

“What did you buy, gorgeous?” Ez asks, very friendly and for once, not flirty. Guess he likes her enough to not overwhelm her too much. He takes a sip of his drink.

“Iced Hot Chocolate and a BLT.” Ashe responds as she takes a bite. John was taking a sip as well. Both of them snort out their drinks through their nose. I rest my head against the table, laughing (Even if I do believe that she is a heretic. It’s HOT chocolate. HOT!).

“Iced Hot Chocolate?” Ez gasps. He whines a little bit. I just keep laughing. Nasus brings some napkins with him as he brings a black coffee and a grilled cheese with tomato soup. He sits next to John and offers the two of them his prize. My brother and friend both take it and start to clean up their drinks.

“What’s wrong with iced hot chocolate?” She asks, very confused. “I don’t like warm drinks, but I love chocolate.”

“...The fact that it has both iced and hot in its name?” I suggest. She thinks for a moment before taking a sip.

“It’s still better than chocolate milk.” Ashe shrugs.

“What happened here?” Yone asks. Yasuo sits next to Ezreal while Yone takes a seat next to Nasus. Nasus and Yone exchange polite nods. Yasuo digs into his ham and cheese sandwich while taking sips from his pepperminty drink. I can smell it from a few feet away, that thing is strong. Yone is eating slowly, enjoying cream soup and a hot drink. It’s black, but it looks clearer than Nasus’ coffee.

“We are having difficulty getting our new friend to understand that she’s a heretic.” I state calmly. Yasuo starts coughing. Ez reaches around and knocks his back.

“How is she a heretic?” Yone asks. There’s a twitch in his lips like he wants to smile.

“Three words. Iced hot chocolate.” I count them off my fingers.

“That’s not heresy.” Ashe sighs.

“No, it’s blasphemy.” Yasuo agrees. “How do you have hot and iced in its name and be considered good?”

“That’s what I said!” I exclaim as I point at Yasuo. Yasuo waves his hand briefly before going back to eating his food. He groans happily.

“The Demon of Secrets is now my new favorite place.” Yasuo declares while pointing at his sandwich.

“Right?” John joins in. He sighs as he takes a sip of caramel.

“I’m pleased to hear you are enjoying my establishment.” Professor Swaine sneaks up on us. Well, they sneak up on the trio of trouble makers. They were closest to the door when it opened up. Yone, Nasus, John and I silently agreed to not say anything.

“Professor Swaine!” Ez squeaks. Professor raises an eyebrow. I roll my eyes and wave my hand.

“Hello again, Professor. Are you having a good day?” I ask politely. John coughs under his breath, sounding like ‘kiss ass’. I stomp on his foot as hard as I can. He winces and bows his head to hide his pain.

“I am, actually. I believe I bumped into your uncle earlier. Azir Shurima, correct?”

“Yes, that’s our uncle.” I gesture to my brother as he keeps a steady face to look at Professor Swaine in the eyes.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“Well, carry on. I’m on break like the rest of you. Draven, my usual.” Professor Swaine barks out. Draven waves a lazy hand before whispering an order to a worker. He turns the tablet at the same time Swaine steps up. Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy.

“What?” I ask.

“...You do realize he has a reputation of being demonic when angered, right?” Ez asks, sounding a little scared.

“Oh, he was being nice. He liked that we complemented his store and he isn’t that hard to converse with.”

“Uh huh. Look at this place! He’s practically a god here!” Ez protests under his breath.

“Oh, you’re being over dramatic. You said he’s demonic when angry. Just don’t make him angry.” I roll my eyes before sipping my drink. The sweet flavor of vanilla sinks into my mouth. I sigh happily. Only the Demon of Secrets could produce drinks this good. We continue to eat and drink quietly, asking to try food and swatting Ez’s hand from all the boys’ food.

“Oh, don’t you have to schedule your classes soon?” Ez speaks through a mouthful of cake and popcorn. I wince.

“Say it first, then talk.” I scold our phones start to ring like crazy. I look very confused but pull it out. Everyone else does the same. 

_ EMERGENCY: MASS PRISON BREAKOUT FROM TUULA PRISON _

I pale and quickly look at John’s face. His face is as pale as mine. I look around and am surprised to see Yone’s and Yasuo’s faces reach the same color as ourselves.

“Hey, guys, you ok?” Ez asks. Nasus looks just as concerned.

“He’s out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little writer's block on Extraordinary. Don't worry too much! I have a chapter all set for Thursday. As mentioned before, I'm way ahead of schedule, so I got plenty of time to relax. This is just my writing practice. Let me know what you guys think. And, as usual, be Extraordinary!


	3. Chapter 3

_EMERGENCY: MASS PRISON BREAKOUT FROM TUULA PRISON_

_SEE LIST BELOW_

"Fuck. Jhin's listed here." Yasuo curses. Yone's mouth tightens into a thin line.

"I'm sorry, who's out?" Ashe asks.

"Jhin. There's no way he didn't get out." Yasuo growls under his breath. His hands are clenched and his eyes, they're practically looking to murder someone. John's arm slinks around my shoulders, hoping to comfort me.

"We don't know that for sure." Yone sounds just as furious. Before the conversation can continue, Professor Swain steps up next to our booth. I slip my phone into my pocket and

"Come with me." He orders. Everyone scrambles out of our little booth. Yone waits until I scoot out before following me closely. Draven and other staff wait at the door. Once our group is outside, he turns around and locks up the shop.

"Jericho, what's going on?" Draven asks.

"The breakout, we have reason to believe that at least one of the escapees will be coming here. It is my responsibility as your president to protect every single one of you, and you are much safer on the courtyard of campus than you are at my shop. Draven, make sure you and the staff escort the students back to the courtyard. I will be talking with the police about what is to happen." Swain barks out as his jacket sweeps the ground behind him. John clutches my hand tightly as we are brought back to campus. Yone's friend Akali races up. Her hands are practically shaking. Her mouth is practically nonexistent.

"Great to have you back. News just confirmed that Jhin escaped with four other inmates. Two of them… It's Kusho and Govos." She wipes away water from her eyes. I gulp from hearing their names. Yone's widens before he gently touches her shoulder.

"Akali… I'm so sor-"

"Don't be. They were idiots." She snaps. She glances at me for a moment before she turns back to Yone. Her mouth opens when her face changes. She takes a double look at me before her eyes widen. She grabs my arm and yanks me towards her. I can sense that John's trying to get to me, but Nasus holds him back.

"Stop!"

"Akali!" Yasuo sounds irritated.

"Let go of my sister." John snaps. I try to wiggle my hand out, but she has a tight grip. Instead of letting go, she leans in to place her mouth next to my ear.

"It's you, isn't it? The one they used?" She whispers in my ear. I jump a little bit and stare at her, scared.

" _Miss Starshadow?" A policeman calls out to me as I wait for my brother's practice to be over. Once again, he trips his way to victory in a spar. No idea how he does that. I look up from my spot on the bleachers to see two men standing above me. They come to my bench and walk towards me._

" _Um, yes? Who are you?" I ask quietly. The younger man takes a seat next to me. I shift a little bit away from him. His blue eyes seem sad at seeing my reaction._

" _My name is Govos. This is my Father, Kusho." He introduces them. I keep a close eye on the field. I think the coach is in yelling distance, and John, Ez, and Nasus won't let anything happen to me. And we're on school grounds. They'll see that the policemen are here. If anything happens, at least this time they'll know who took me._

" _I'm Leilah." I offer my name, not my hand. The elder of the two nods and takes a seat in front of me. He becomes shorter, less powerful to me. Or he's getting ready to run with me._ No, Leilah. It's been five years. They're policemen. Nothing bad should happen.

" _Leilah, we're looking for some help. Have you heard of the Golden Demon?" Kusho asks. I nod, slowly. Bad man. There have been rather… artful and distasteful deaths around Kinkou High. While their security has become incredibly strong thanks to him, somehow the culprit still managed to get people to come to him._

" _The last one was a teenage boy. He was to be the star of the play_ Hamlet _on opening night three days from now." I state._

" _You keep up with the news." Govos sounds a little surprised. I shrug my shoulders._

" _The Demon has been haunting that school for a long time, four years in fact. We think we have him figured out, but he knows our faces too well. We need someone he wouldn't recognize, but he would be unable to resist." Kusho looks and sounds uneasy. He's playing with his hands. "You know the victims he's taken? They… they are all posed and displayed. It's art for him… We hate to ask, but…"_

" _Why me?" I whimper. I clutch my backpack to my chest and try not to tremble. Govos sighs._

" _I knew this was a bad idea…"_

" _Because you can handle being in someone else's control. You managed to do the impossible before." He's quiet, pointing out the obvious. I whimper and curl up even tighter. He sighs. "We'll be watching you every single second. Will you help us?" Kusho pleads. My face pales._

" _What about Father?" I ask. Kusho bites his lip._

" _He thinks he's got the Demon, but I don't think so. He's going after the Principal. I don't think it's him, but I need tangible proof that it's not. We… we need someone to get caught by him. Please, Miss Starshadow. We need your help." Kusho reaches out to grab my hands before stopping. I can tell he wants to comfort me, but he also knows he shouldn't. Not to me. "You don't have to answer right now, Leilah. I know it's hard for you and that you need time to think about it."_

_They walk up the steps and away from me. I stare at my hands, thinking. They want me to pose as bait. They want me to be in that position again. I can't… but I'm tired of being scared. Maybe… Maybe this is what I need to get out of those damn therapy sessions. Maybe this will be the 'closure' I need._

" _I'll do it." I turn around and look at them. They just managed to reach the top of the bleachers when I call out. They both come back to their seats next to me._

" _Are you sure?" Kusho asks. His hands twitch to mine again. This time, I reach out and let him._

" _I… I want to help."_

"W-w-what are you talking about?" I stammer.

"Don't play dumb. Kusho and Govos, they're my family. They told me they found the perfect kid, one that was completely identifiable as well as unknown at Kinkou. They told me to keep an eye out for the bait when they got arrested. They said I would know when I see them. Are you?" She pulls away slightly and stares at me. I gulp and give an imperceptible nod. Her grip is no longer tight. In fact, she completely switches. She almost seems to snap her hand off of me. John lets go when he's sure that she won't be trying anything again.

"What was that about, Akali?" Yone demands.

"Oh, nothing. She's a pretty one." Akali nudges Yone as she walks away. He gives her an odd look as Yasuo covers a laugh with a cough. Ashe smirks and points at Yasuo, making him double over again. I roll my eyes at their antics.

"Miss Starshadow?" An older voice calls. Turning around, Professor Ryze stands in front of me with his tablet open. I want to smack myself in the face. I still need to sign up for classes!

"Uh, Yes! That's me." I yelp. John coughs into his arm in amusement. I stomp on his foot subtly. Ez and Nasus cover their mouths when John's face twitches. Our usual ritual. _Some things will never get old._

"Your uncle told me that you were having difficulty choosing a college to study at. Are there any classes you would like specifically?" He pulls out a stylus and adjusts his glasses. "You can have up to five classes."

"Remind me why I can't take them all? You know Mother was ok with that." I grumble. I hear Ez snort in amusement as Ryze gives me an amused look.

"We're not going to burn you out, Miss Starshadow. I know your uncle said you'd like to go into the science field. With your mother being who she is, do you want to take a class in Zaun for Chemistry? The professor there is apparently very good at his job. One of the best in fact." Ryze starts to tap against his tablet.

"Uh, maybe. An Art class would be nice, though." I start to play with my hair, feeling very shy at being the only person in the group that didn't have my classes signed up. John rubs my shoulder, understanding my position.

"Alright. Anything else?"

"Uh, an astrology class, a math class, and… um…"I think frantically for another class. Professor Ryze taps his tablet and looks above his glasses.

"It's ok to have four classes." He offers. I shake my head.

"I need stimulation or my brain will go crazy. I wish I could take more. There's too many classes." I do my best to keep the whine out of my voice. John's covered up snickers are still noticeable.

"Why not take a diplomacy class?" Yasuo offers. I nod.

"Sure. A diplomacy class." I blurt out. I see Ashe and Yasuo share a soft high five. That's when I realize what I signed myself up for, but it's too late. I do my best to keep a polite look on my face while mentally cursing them for picking my class for me. Ryze puts it down and marks it with a strong tap.

"There you go. You're all set. Come see me if you don't agree with any of your classes, ok?" He walks off, calling out for another name. I slowly turn around and glare at my new so-called friends.

"What was that for?" I demand. John crosses his arms as Nasus' face remains it's normal impassive state. Yasuo and Ashe both adopt innocent faces.

"What? You seemed to be struggling, and you made a good argument in my defence. I think you'd fit in just fine." Ashe shrugs. She passes me her phone with an open contact. She spelled my name wrong, L-A-Y-L-A.

"What's this?" I ask as I take it.

"I like to think we're friends. Besides, it's college. Start your social circle early with good people. Can I have your number?" She asks.

"Sure, once I fix my name." I state absentmindedly and correct it. She looks over my shoulder.

"That's a rather unique spelling. It's very interesting." She points out. I raise an eyebrow.

"You literally have four people around us that have names I've never heard anywhere else. Ezreal. Nasus. Yasuo. Yone. We're not even mentioning anyone else in our lives besides the ones around us. The only one with a somewhat normal name is John, and he doesn't even go by it." I point out as I type my number into her phone. She thinks about it before nodding.

"That makes sense, but their names actually sound like how they are spelled." Ashe unhelpfully points out.

"Seriously? You two are bickering over a little spelling?" Yasuo asks. Both of us look up at him with dead expressions.

"Do you have any idea how annoying it was when kids would look at my name and tell me I spelled it wrong?" I ask.

"Or how some would try to erase the e in my name?" Ashe helps.

"Kids were like that?" Nasus asks, sounding surprised. I give a deep sigh.

"Kids are the worst. Sure, they meant well, but when they convinced the teacher that my name is spelled wrong…" I trail off, letting them think it. John laughs a little bit.

"That was the funniest thing I ever saw, even if we weren't on speaking terms. Apparently, one of my old friends thought it'd be funny to convince the teacher that Leilah was trying to get attention for it. The teacher actually docked points on one of her mini quizzes because of the name. She absolutely tore a new one into the teacher, ranting about how a growing child's identity should not be changed because of another kid's jealousy and to check the school's system for her name as her legal name is required to be on the roster. Absolute hilarity!" John reminisces.

"I remember that. Gosh, she was beautiful as a spitfire." Ez points at John. I roll my eyes.

"As I recall, I tried to return the favor, but that damned teacher used my logic against me." I grumble under my breath.

"Yeah, you were always a spitfire in those days…" John sighs. I sigh too. Back then, I was such a spirited child. Then I went through hell… twice… Though the second time, I grew into a better person, me today.

"What do you mean I was a spitfire?" I playfully demand while elbowing his chest. John snorts.

"Oh boy, here we go again." Ez mutters to my friends. I ignore him.

"You are like a dainty little princess now. You can't run, you need help constantly, and you're tiny." John smirks. I glare.

"Can a dainty little princess do everything I can do?" I ask sweetly. John's entire demeanor flinches. I feel bad for the reminder. "I'm more like a badass chick that everyone underestimates. Just like you."

"That's the hidden history?" Nasus asks. This time it's my turn to flinch. My arms wrap themselves around me as I cuddle into John.

"I'm really sorry, Nasus. I want to tell you, I really do, but it's… It's overwhelming to relive it." I try my best to explain. Ez plops his arm around my shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about it, Beautiful. We know. We've always known that you struggle with it. We're just letting you know that we're here for you." Ez hugs me tightly before letting go. I can see the three that didn't come from my school look very intrigued.

"Leilah, you are, by far, the most interesting person I have met to date." Yasuo remarks. I shrug my shoulders. I open my mouth when there's a little fizzle of the speakers. We all immediately cover our ears at the painful sound.

"Apologies, students." Swain's smooth voice comes over the intercoms.

"Starshadow, instincts." Nasus remarks. We both notice that John's body is practically covering mine. It's a thing he was taught to do. Mother said that John was more capable of taking hits than I was. Father was not pleased with that, but he let it be. WHen I came back and we made friends again, I didn't. John was more than some bodyguard to me, but Mother… She taught him well.

I tap his chest, letting him know that he reacted like Mother taught him to. He blinks and quickly backs away sheepishly. I roll my eyes and point at him. He shrugs his shoulders before looking apologetic. I sigh and let it be.

"Did they just have a silent conversation?" Ashe asks.

"All the time." Ez answers. "They are twins after all."

"Students, at this time, every student currently standing on campus will not be leaving any time soon. The gates have been closed to ensure that all the criminals at large will not enter campus. We are also responsible for your safety. As such, we are requiring that all students remain on campus for a time. We have reached out to all emergency contacts and have informed them of the situation. They will be bringing necessary supplies for those who have not signed up to live on campus. Have patience. I have no doubt that these men will be brought back to prison in no time. They are high stake prisoners after all." Silence dies down. My eyes widen as the situation sinks in. _We're stuck._

"Don't worry too much. You guys can room with us." Yasuo pipes up. Yone glares at his brother before sighing.

"We do have an apartment that resides on campus." Yone reluctantly speaks up. "It's small, probably not enough for everyone to fit in."

"Where?" Ashe speaks up. I raise an eyebrow. She looks sheepish as she looks at me. "I asked my mom if I could live on campus. She insisted on paying it. So, technically, we have two places you could stay at." I'm about to reply when my phone starts to ring. I quickly pick it up as John's phone rings at the same time.

"Hello?" I answer.

" _Honey, we heard the news. Don't worry, your Dad is bringing you guys clothes and supplies. You should be able to stay with Sivir and Azir. He called me and told me the situation. John is there with you, right?"_ Mother word vomits everything into my ear. Yone slips away from the group and stands nearby as I can hear their argument from here. _Must be wanting a little bit of distance to think._

"Yes, Mother. He's next to me, talking to Father. And you know how I feel about how you programmed him." I snap into the phone. Yone's eyebrow rises. "Besides, a new friend offered me a place to stay while everything happens. I'm sure Uncle Azir would allow Sivir's friends to room there."

" _He has plenty of space for your friends and Sivir's friends."_ I can hear the dismissal in her voice. Yasuo, Ashe, and my brother's friends argue with each other about something. John is nodding his head. I think he's talking to Father.

"Mother, please. I'm making new friends."

" _Leilah, I just want you safe. Your uncle's place is much safer than your new friend's._ "

"I am safe. Campus is locked down. There's no chance that they are getting anywhere near us. Professor Swain is sure of it, and we both know his reputation." I point out.

" _We also know his reputation._ " Mother adds in. I flinch. A hand rests on my back. I jump a little bit and look into Yone's eyes. He's concerned.

"He won't get to me. Not again." I snap and hang up. I feel a growl rise in my throat as my temper rises. _Mother is trying to help, but she's going all the wrong way..._

"Something get to you?" Yone whispers.

"Yeah. You aren't the only one with fear of the escapees." I let out a shaky breath.

"Who is your nightmare?" He asks me. I blink and I see his silhouette again. Hidden behind green toxic mists. I shake my head and refocus on Yone's face.

"I know… I know three of the escapees. I'd rather not say more." I murmur. Yone nods.

"Understandable. I apologize for making you uneasy." Yone responds quietly.

"You didn't make me uneasy. My family is. My mother tried to program my brother to be like my personal bodyguard while I went missing."

"...I can definitely see why you snapped at me about Yasuo's choice of the future now." Yone tries to make the situation a little bit lighter. I'm about to reply when I get a text. I whip out my phone to see my cousin texting me.

_Sivir: Leilah? You got a place to stay?_

_Leilah: Why are you asking?_

_Sivir: Dad's building is going to be a spot for the students going into the Shurima college._

_Leilah: That's so many students!_

_Sivir: Yep. Dad's going to have a field day with them. I'm staying with a few friends. You?_

_Leilah: Possibly. I think John has a spot._

_Sivir: Do I know them?_

_Leilah: If you know a Yone or a Yasuo or an Ashe, the daughter of the senator Grena?_

_Sivir: REALLY? You managed to meet all of them? Lucky girl, you are._

_Leilah: What can I say, I have good luck. I'll probably be with Ashe._

_Sivir: Damn, cousin. I have no idea how you managed to become friends with Ashe of all people._

_Leilah: She's really nice. Also, you're abandoning your dad?_

_Sivir: Yep. I've lived with him for twenty years already. I don't need more. What about John? I'm sorry, Starshadow? *rolls eyes*_

"John, have you gotten living arrangements done yet?" I call over to them. John flicks a thumbs up.

"I'm gonna be with you while Nasus and Ez room with Yasuo and Yone." John informs me. I nod and turn back to my phone. I hear a protest, but I figure John can handle it.

_Leilah: John's trying to room with me, overprotective brother alert._

_Sivir: Damn, Auntie did a number on him._

_Leilah: He's been getting better. Ish._

_Sivir: Instincts when the static went off?_

_Leilah: Yeah…_

_Sivir: Sorry, sweetheart. We'll find the bastard. We'll find him._

_Leilah: I'm over that part of my life, Sivir._

_Sivir: I don't think either of you are, though. You weren't the only one conditioned during that time._

I sigh and put my phone away.

"What did John tell you while he pulled you away?" I ask quietly. Yone's face falls.

"John told me that you are incredibly sensitive to talking about your past. He didn't like me asking about it and demanded that I never bring it up again. He claims your history is tragic to say the least, yet no one knows why." Yone answers me. I nod and we remain quiet, watching our friends and siblings interact with everyone. I feel guilty about how I lashed out earlier. With that in mine, I clear my throat. He tilts his face towards me in curiosity.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. It's... complicated. It's been a while since someone asked me about my past and… I didn't realize that it still affected me." I start to play with my hands. I can see John's eyes track us, but he chooses to stick with everyone else. _Good. Just keep talking with them. I'm alright._

"It's understandable, Leilah. There are times where I get defensive myself." Yone's hand leaves my back as he walks forward. I run a hand through my hair and take a deep breath. Now I'm curious about what would make cool collected Yone get defensive, but he just showed me a lot of respect by not pestering me. I need to respect him in turn. I do my best to calm my racing heart as I join thier conversation.

"I still say that the men should live together. It wouldn't be good for John's progress if he's around Leilah in a time of high stress, not to mention it wouldn't be decent for any of us to join the girls." Ez folds his arms over his chest. Ashe looks annoyed and amused at the same time.

"What did I miss?" I whisper to her.

"Well, there's a few solutions. Turns out, the brothers live in a small apartment building. John really wants to bunk with us while all this is happening, while Ez and Nasus think you guys should separate, but that leaves an uneven amount in the living spaces, where the men are all in Yone's apartment while it's just us two girls in my place. Though I did offer for all of them to room with me. They dismissed it before I was finished. Something about decency." Ashe whispers.

"Why? How big is your place?"

"Oh, Tryndamere and Mom both insisted I live in his familial house during my college years. It's big enough for all of us to have our own rooms and space for us to be ourselves." Ashe explains.

"And you didn't think to mention this?"

"I did, but Ez can be pretty loud."

"Amen." I agree to her statement before pulling my fingers to my lips and giving a quick whistle. The boys all jump and quiet down instantly. Ez looks a bit sheepish as I look at him pointedly. "Now, Ashe is offering her place of residence. She's got plenty of space, since Tryndamere, her betrothed, offered his family home on campus while she's studying here. There's enough room for us to each have our own bedrooms and spaces for study. While your offer to have us room with you is a good one, we might have a better spot."

There's silence as the boys all digest my words. I'll admit, I was a little bit… aggressive, but it's three football players and a kendo student in front of me with hackles raised. WHat else am I supposed to do? John blinks as he processes my words.

"Does that mean I get to stay with you then?" He sounds like a little puppy eager to stay near his best friend. Ez rolls his eyes.

"Starshadow, you really need to work on your separation anxiety." He pats my brother's shoulders.

"I was able to handle being away from Leilah in the Demacia tent." John pouts.

"And you can't stand the thought of leaving her side for a minute right now! You are acting-"

"Enough!" I yell. John flinches slightly while Ez stands down. "This is a very trying time for all of us. We're alone, there's chaos happening outside, and everyone is tense. Calm down. Let's go see Ashe's place." Ashe slinks her arm into mine and tugs me away. It surprises me a bit. I let out a yelp as I'm yanked off my feet. John reaches out to grab me when Nasus holds onto him. Thankfully, John doesn't struggle too much.

"Down boy!" I tease over my shoulder while also chastising him. John lets out a good natured grunt before following us. Naturally, Nasus and Ez do some light hearted teasing before including the brothers in their conversation. I can hear them talking about their one-in-a-million tough spots they got out of, with their little tricks and impossible shots that happen. I manage to catch a glimpse of Yasuo almost flowing as he demonstrates a move when Ashe gets a call. She looks down at it in surprise before answering.

"Tryndamere! What a surprise. I wasn't expecting you to call." She greets warmly. There's a deep baritone voice on the other end, but I can't make out what he's saying. "Yeah, I'm alright… I made some new friends... The Starshadows with their friends Ez and Nasus. I also met two brothers, Yone and Yasuo… Yeah, the trio that carried their high school team to victory for years, Ez and Nasus...No, please don't look into them… Cause I like them!.. Ok fine... Hey, Tryndamere?" She glances at me. She looks unsure. I gesture to her, wanting her to do what she wants to do. She takes a deep breath before turning to the phone with pink cheeks. "Tryndamere, after all these criminals are captured, would you, maybe, like to go on a date?" She rushes the last bit out. It seems like there's silence before a soft smile brightens up her face. "I'll see you soon then. Bye." She hangs up the phone. There's a soft, happy sigh before she reaches over and hugs me. I pat her back.

"So, I'm going to say that he agreed to a date?" I ask with a smirk. She pulls away with a happy nod.

"Now, we just got to get you set up with Yone." She chirps.

"I'm sorry?" I gasp. "I've literally only met him today!"

"Oh, Leilah. You are blind to the world of attraction. It's adorable." Ashe pats my head.

"I am not. John's gone on enough of them to ensure that I know the dating scene. Girls are insane." I point out. We keep conversing about John's and Ashe's dates. I had no idea she dated so many guys, or at least went on picnics with them. Apparently, they were all sleaze bags, trying to ban her from talking to another group of people her mother had connections with. Tryndamere's family is so well known no one wanted to say anything cruel to the last descendent of the Freljord name, so Grena arranged an initial meeting, offering friendship. It apparently went well, so she's betrothed. She hasn't had a date since then. That was apparently a year ago. John's… well, she's almost falling over laughing. I'm cackling with her.

"Did they actually… Suggest their best friend… as someone for you… to date and then have them try to stand you up?" Ashe is howling. I giggle and nod.

"Everyone knew that John would never go without me anywhere at that point, so she tried the 'you already promised' approach. This is my favorite moment as he immediately said 'I already promised to keep my sister safe until she's safe with someone else. That's the promise I'm going to keep' Her face as he shut the door was of complete fury." I join the howling then. We lean into each other as we try to stay on our feet.

"What's so funny, ladies?" Ez slides between us unexpectedly. I'm laughing too hard to really jump. His hand rests on my waist comfortably as his other hand holds Ashe's shoulders. Say what you will about the playboy, he knows how to work with ladies.

"You… remember… Gia?" I gasp out. Ez breaks out into laughter with us. We're just reminiscing in amusement. Yasuo slides up.

"What's the joke?" Yasuo asks.

"John!" I yell over my shoulder. He glances up at me while talking with Yone and Nasus. "Gia!"

"Oh, no. Don't you be telling them that story!" John picks up the pace. I squeal and run away. Ez, recognizing John's stomping feet as a sign of going to tackle us, joins me in running. He grabs my hand and tugs me along. We keep out of John's grasp. Poor Nasus becomes our safety pole as we run circles around him. I hear Yasuo snort in amusement as we duck under John's attempts to grab us. Nasus sighs, knowing that we are acting like children. Without warning, he reaches out and grabs my brother and his friend with each hand. I quickly scamper behind Yone and watch the calmest of the trio deal with my brother and Ez. Ez's body jerks in the air before he struggles against Nasus.

"You are adults. Act like it." Nasus barks before dropping them. I relax and step out from my terrible hiding spot.

"We have the rest of our lives to be adults. Personally, I'd like to know more about this Gia." Yasuo asks innocently. I snort in amusement and duck over to Ashe. She smirks as I come back.

"What?"

"Did you not see Yone smiling the entire time you were running?" She pesters. I roll my eyes.

"Not this again."

"You don't have to worry too much. We're here." She gestures to an old house. My eyes bug out at the size. It's not a house, it's a mansion!

"You live here? It's bigger than my house!" I yelp. Ashe blushes a little bit.

"Yeah, this is Tryndamere's family house. I make sure that the house is tidy, they pay for all my supplies." Ashe explains.

"Ashe, did they come with any conditions?" I ask. She looks a bit confused.

"Not really. I mean, they did say that I could have roommates. There's about ten bedrooms in there."

"Ashe… How long do you think it will be before they ask you to take in students?" I try to guide her to what I'm thinking. I can see her eyes light up before dimming.

"I really don't think that the brothers would be happy leaving their home." She points out.

"Would you be ok with all of us living there?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Hey, Yone!" I call out. He turns away from whatever he was saying to John and looks at me. "How do you feel about being a renter here?" I ask. His eyes seem to spark. He catches onto what I'm thinking faster than Ashe did.

"As long as Ashe is ok with it-"

"And I am." Ashe interrupts.

"Then I'm sure we can come to an agreement to settle everyone in." Yone finishes with a nod. Yasuo smiles.

"Well, it'll be nice to have roommates besides stuck-up here!" Yasuo chirps.

"Let me remind you that I will probably be paying for your share as well." Yone chastises his brother.

"Did I say stuck-up? I meant best brother ever." Yasuo attempts to recover.

My phone rings in my pocket an hour later. Yone and Yasuo both talked with Ashe about rent. Ashe called her mother and Yone handled the discussion. With the agreements that everyone's rooms will remain as they are and that we pay for food and electrical bills, we were all welcome to stay in Ashe's house. Not even seconds after Ashe hung up, the phone rang again, asking if she had room. Ashe claimed that she found a group of people who were in need of rooms and gave them to us. Yone was calling his own landlord and discussing how to deal with his own contract. John, Nasus, Ez, and Yasuo are just lounging on a couch, chatting. I sit quietly next to them, drinking a glass of water Ashe offered us. I pick up my phone.

"Hello?"

" _Leilah, I'm outside._ " Father informs me. I stand up and gesture to John. He nods as he stands up. Nasus and Ez follow his lead.

"We're on our way." I reply.

" _Campus gates. Your Mother and Ez's parents are here to drive the cars back._ " Father hangs up on me. I pocket my phone and stand up. Everyone else notices and follows my lead. Yone remains with Ashe's phone.

"Yone." I call quietly. He looks up. "We're going to grab our essentials, ok?" He nods and says something in the phone before hanging up and handing the phone back to Ashe.

"I'll come with. Grena and Tryndamere are rather kind, offering to pay the rent on my house until I can be released. The landlord is… A bit of an ass." Yone explains delicately. Yasuo snorts.

"He'd extend the damn contract you're under and try to bump up the pricing. If you weren't so insistent on being available to any student that needs it…" Yasuo growls.

"My choice, Yasuo." Yone shuts down Yasuo firmly.

"If you need any help, I can get our uncle to get your landlord to let you out." John offers. Yone smiles slightly.

"I may take you up on that." Yone's shoulders relax a little bit.

I can't help but see everyone having a good time. I know that John's morning routine is not something the two of them knew about. Three hours of being in the bathroom. I know that there are going to be arguments and issues that we'll have to work out. I'm pretty sure we can. Maybe us rooming together will be brief, but I hope it's not. John's enjoying himself. Nasus and Yone are talking. Ez, John, and Yasuo are arguing about sports, from the way their hands are gesturing. I can honestly see us being good friends for a long time. My own body relaxes. It feels like a new beginning, one that feels much better than when Ez and Nasus became our friends.

"You're smiling." Ashe whispers in my ear. I nod in agreement. "Is it because of Yone?"

"ASHE!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since this has been updated. I remember this story and was like, 'This needs to go on.' Yone and Leilah in a different setting can be fun.
> 
> I think I may do some more one shots with the other spirit blossoms. I really appreciate all of you who review it and enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy writing. I hope that I can continue to write more little moments and such for you guys. As always, hope your days are extraordinary.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: There's going to be a lot of italicized and normal font paragraphs mixed together. This is meant to be a transition from Leilah's present to past as she is telling it. She gives commentary when it's normal font, italics when they talk about the past.

I grab a bag out of Father’s car. I swear this one belongs to John because it’s much heavier than most of my stuff. I think Father remembered John’s need for smexy hair and brought his entire cabinet of hair gel. That or it’s his make up kit for parties that John definitely does not attend. I struggle to pull the heavy bag to the doorway when a hand helps me out. Literally. Like that hand touches mine to take away the bag helping hand.

“I got it.” Yone murmurs in my ear. I feel my face get a little red and I let him take the bag. He easily picks it up. “Where’s it going?”

“It’s John’s, so wherever he’s put his stuff. Just put it outside his door.” I keep my voice steady enough to not sound like an idiot. Yone nods with his head as he goes to put John’s stuff away. I just watch him walk away. I can’t seem to stop looking in his direction when he climbs the stairs.

“You like him.” Ashe teases me, snapping me out of my thoughts. My face turns fiery red and I whirl on her.

“Hey! I just met him a few hours ago. I really doubt that I can love someone just by meeting them.” I protest before grabbing another bag. This one is a little bit bigger, full of clothes. I crack it open a bit to see that it’s mine. I zip it up and lug it inside. Ashe grabs another of my bags, this one I think my school supplies, and comes with me.

“That’s called attraction, Leilah. I’m sure there was someone in your high school that you were attracted to.” Ashe points out. I roll my eyes a little bit.

“I didn’t care about boys back then. I still don’t.”

“That’s a lie.” Ashe snarks.

“Which part is the so called lie?”

“Hi, Yone. Mind helping me out?” Ashe asks while looking over my shoulder. I whirl around to see Yone coming out of the house. He’s chatting with Nasus about something. Yone and Nasus both take notice and come over to help us.

“Not at all. How much stuff do you have left to unpack?” Yone asks.

“I’m betting that it’s just Starshadow’s stuff. Leilah, while she looks wonderful right now, does not have that many different things to wear. Starshadow has enough clothes to have a different outfit for every single day of the year.” Nasus remarks.

“For a star football player, he sure has quite a lot of things.” Yone can’t help but comment. Someone slings their arm over mine unexpectedly. Since it’s Ez’s arm, I don’t panic.

“Yeah, but that’s our Starshadow. The pretty boy with a mean throw. Did you bring up his makeup kit?” Ez asks. Yone tilts his head confused.

“... What did I get us into?” Yone sounds very uncertain. I pat his shoulder and grab the bag that Ashe asked for help with.

“I was born with him, Yone. Even I can’t tell what I got into, and I didn’t have a choice.” I say extra loudly. John’s head pops up from the other side of the car.

“I heard that, Leilah. I hope you are prepared for an early morning then.” He threatens me.

“Ashe’s house has locks on them. You aren’t getting into my room at nightmarish hours anymore.” I snort. John raises his finger before lowering it with a pout. I can hear him curse under his breath about my logic working. 

“Older siblings, can’t do anything about them.” Yasuo pats John on the shoulder.

“She’s younger than me, actually.” John corrects him. Yasuo freezes a bit before he keeps going.

“Responsible siblings, can’t do anything about them.” Yasuo corrects himself. Yone crosses his arms and looks at Yasuo with a pointed look. “Exhibit A.”

“Yasuo…” Yone has an exasperated tone in his voice.

“Let’s just move everything in, ok?” I try to break the tension. With all the subtlety of the world, I drop the bag Ashe is holding into Yone’s hands. He starts a little bit at the sudden intrusion. “Would you mind bringing this to my room?”

“Not at all.” Yone agrees easily. He walks away. I let out a soft sigh before I’m met with a much more annoying person when stressed.

“I think that’s the last of it.” Mother comments as John grabs another bag. She closes the door and kisses my brother’s cheek. He happily lets her. Mother comes over to me. Instead of saying goodbye to her like my brother, I stand stoically. She gives me a soft smile and yanks me into a hug. I give her the lightest touch. “Can’t you at least say bye to your Mother?”

“I know you told John to protect me at any cost, Mother. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not an experiment that needs security?” I mutter quietly. Nasus and Ez still don’t know why we argue. They love my Mother like they love their own. She was the one that picked them up from high school parties and let them stay at her place when things got rough at home. I can’t remember how many times Nasus asked to stay the night because he’s worried about his brother and he can’t handle being alone with his arguing parents, or Ez because his parents wanted to go on an expedition. They wouldn’t understand why I can fight so bitterly with her.

“I know that John’s smart, but he’s also better at fighting. You, you’re frail. Especially with everything that happened in that summer. Both summers.” She frets over me. I roll my eyes.

“I volunteered for the second one. It got me some closure, that a criminal was captured. I haven’t had a meltdown since then. Seriously, Mother. I can handle it.” I defend myself. Mother sighs before putting a hand on my cheek.

“You’re two are my miracle babies. While I don’t want either of you getting hurt, I also know that you still might be. I trust Nasus and Ez, but no other parent should go through what I did.” Mother tries to defend herself.

“I’m on campus, Mother. Nothing is going to happen to me.” I push a little bit more. She sighs before relenting.

“Fine. I’ll tell John to just remain calm and not follow you. Better?”

“Thanks, Mother.” I finally give her a real hug. She sighs and rubs my back.

“Why didn’t you go into law school again?” She gives a wet joke.

“Because no one would take a girl with the oddest appearance seriously?” I point out. No, I’m not bitter that I look like this. I’m just stating a fact.

“Be serious, Leilah. We both know you couldn’t because you can’t be impartial.” Mother corrects me. I sigh.

“Well, bye, Mother. We’ll see you around.” I step out of Mother’s embrace. She makes a soft noise but backs away for Father to give me a hug. I see her step over to John and speak privately with him. At least she was telling the truth this time.

“If you ever need anything, call your mother, OK?” Father asks. I look at him with a little bit of worry. He’s usually always available, but I guess he can’t be now.

“Are you going back? Into the force?” I whimper a little bit. He takes in a deep breath and lets out a sigh.

“I should. Aatrox is out, along with Jhin and Xerath.” Father murmurs in my ear. A few tears creep into my eyes.

Aatrox, the man that mentored my father. He was a cop that used to be the sheriff. He was really good at his job too, getting criminals left and right. He cleaned up the streets and made things safe. He took my father under his wing when my grandparents were killed in a home invasion. Aatrox is like the older brother Father never had. He used to come over for barbeques all the time. He used to play with us, usually letting us play cops and arrest the bad guy, the bad guy being him. He was a very close family friend. Three years before I was taken, Aatrox’s family was killed. He turned dirty then, running drug rings and hurting people at random. Father stopped him when he could, but it was too late by then. They arrested him before I was discovered. He killed so many of Father’s friends on the force before he was brought down.

Xerath, on the other hand, is a true crime lord. He was Uncle Azir’s best friend and brother growing up. My grandparents on my mother’s side adopted him. Xerath’s real parents were forced to give up their son to their landlords and friends, though I don’t think Xerath saw it as such. Uncle Azir said that they tried everything to make Xerath happy, but it didn’t work. Xerath was always determined to be out of the house as much as possible. When my grandparents died, Xerath had already started his crime ring. Uncle Azir got married and had a few kids by that time, something Xerath could never have due to his crime ways. Xerath was jealous of Uncle’s success. He lashed out the day Sivir came into the world. When Sivir was just about to be born, Xerath came to their house under the pretext of visiting family. That night, Uncle Azir was staying late to finish up some grading. In reality he was finalizing some details for Xerath to have a good home. He came back to see his kids all killed. His wife was left alone, but she was dying. She gave birth to Sivir with her last breath. She told Uncle who killed them. Ever since then, Mother and Uncle Azir have disowned Xerath. That’s all they would tell me about him. I never got to know the person he was before he betrayed Uncle.

“Who are the other two? I didn’t get a good look.” My lip trembles as I ask.

“Urgot and Brand. Detective Ryze is going to help us with it along with Sheriff Caitlyn and her deputy Vi. It’s an all hands on deck situation.” Father kisses the top of my head before letting go. I let out a shuddering breath.

“Govos and Kusho are still in prison?” I’m a little surprised.

“Honey, they helped make sure no one else escaped. They might have done a bad thing, but they aren’t bad people.” Father sighs. “Their sentence is being changed. While the big guys are out, they’re going to be watched outside of prison. If they help us catch all five, without use of bait, then they are going to be let go back into society.”

“Will they get their jobs back?” I can’t help but let that out. They did their job protecting me when we caught Jhin, they just went rogue.

“Maybe. We’ll see if it’s possible.”

“They aren’t bad, Father. They were just tired. Shen was also tired. Kusho just wanted to stop hurting his sons. Govos’ hair was turning white during the investigation. So did Shen’s. They were only twenty-four back then. Please, think about it.” My words get faster and faster. Father sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“Shen’s still facing backlash from what they did, you know that.” Father answers me. I sigh and nod.

“I know, but they aren’t bad people. Akali found me and told me that they asked her to keep an eye out for me. Please, Father, consider their help.” 

“...I’ll talk with Caitlyn and Vi. It’s their town now. Considering that it’s Aatrox, we will definitely need to consider it.” Father runs a hand through his hair. I smile and pounce on him in a great big hug.

“Thank you, Daddy.” I whisper in his ear. He wraps his arms tightly around my body.

“You got it, Princess. I’ll try to get their help.” Father whispers. I drop and walk back towards the manor to unpack my stuff. John sneaks over to my side past Nasus and Ez.

“What was that about?” My twin asks. I pull him over to a corner and start to twiddle my thumbs.

“...Aatrox, Xerath, Jhin…” I mutter under my breath. John takes a sharp inhale.

“They are all out? What about the rogue cops? The ones that used you.” He murmurs.

“They stopped any more prisoners from escaping, but they missed two more. Urgot and Brand are out too.” I catch him up quickly. “I got Father to see if they can use Govos and Kusho to help, but there’s no guarantee.”

“WHAT?” John erupts. I try to quiet him down, but it’s obvious that everyone heard him. Ez is casually trying to eavesdrop. Yasuo leans against a doorway nearby, while Ashe peaks her head in.

“Everything alright?” Ashe asks.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” I respond breathlessly, even if my face practically screams help. Ashe nods slowly before going to help Nasus move his stuff in. John moves into my line of sight. He’s tense and starting to pace.

“You can’t be serious. You want… you want them to help? They almost let you die!”

“But they didn’t! We caught him in the end! The only thing that happened was me being held for less than a minute! That was it!” I try to calm him down. I desperately want to tell him that they didn’t use me, but I know that it would make John angrier since I’d just be defending people he hates.

“After everything you’ve been through? Everything! And you want them out and about?” John’s really loud right now. This time Nasus listens in without bothering to hide himself. Yone pulls out a pair of earbuds to avoid listening to us. At least one person is trying to respect that this is a private conversation. No one else won’t. Assholes.

“Yes, I do.”

“Why?”

“I trust them. They were all I could trust then, when I was in that much trouble. They didn’t fail me. I really, really doubt they will now. Besides, the police could definitely use the extra help. They are the best people to find Jhin. Father’s the best for Aatrox, and Uncle Azir and Mother for Xerath. If we can just-”

“No, Leilah, there is no we. You are a freshman college kid, you hear me? You’re just a teenager that’s been through way too much and you shouldn’t do these things again! I don’t even know how you were in trouble in the first place!” John snaps before stalking off. I feel drained as he walks away. I place a hand on my forehead before going to my room. Ashe intercepts me as the boys are all suddenly very busy.

“What was that about?” Ashe murmurs to me.

“It’s about my history.” I mutter to her. She grabs my arm and hauls me to my designated room. She pushes me to the bed. I take a seat as Ashe locks the door and turns to face me. She doesn’t have a smile on her face anymore. In fact, it’s rather icy.

“Spill. Are you a criminal?” Ashe demands. I look up at her in shock.

“What? No! Why?”

“Because I heard some things I don’t like, like you asking for some prisoners to go free? What the hell is that about?” Ashe crosses her arms, agitated.

What do I do? Ashe has been incredibly nice letting us stay here in her manor, but it’s very hard for me to tell this part of my life. Partially because I was struggling with my own past, partially because it’s confidential information. The police have that story locked up for a reason, the biggest reason is protecting my identity. Though, Ashe’s mom is a politician. I’m sure that she understands confidentiality better than anyone. That and I should probably talk about it at some point. I never told anyone. It weighs a little bit on my shoulders, so maybe I can share? I have to take the chance.

“...This doesn’t leave the room, ok? Not even John knows the details. I never told him because of how overprotective he is, but he figured it out part of it, mostly how I got into a mess.” I give in. Ashe raises an eyebrow. I guess that’s my signal for ‘depends’. At least it’s not an immediate no. “You remember how they caught Jhin?”

“Akali mentioned something like it. They used a kid, unique enough to get noticed, but one that didn’t go to Kinkou.” Ashe remains cool and collected, but I can see the moment she realizes what I’m alluding to. “You…”

“Me. I was the bait. I helped Govos and Kusho catch him. I went behind Father’s and John’s back to help catch him.” I confess quietly. Ashe’s arms unfold.

“Who’s Govos?”

“Oh, right. I forgot that the media changed his name to fit his so-called crimes. He goes by Zed now.” I recall.

“So-called?”

“Father, he quit the force, claiming that they coerced a troubled teenager to help them. I actually said no at first, but thought about it and wanted to help. They didn’t force me to choose at all.”

“Why did you help them?”

“Because at the time, I was terrified of so much. A shadow, instant anxiety. A blue eye, I’d have to hold in a scream. Hell, I could barely function when I didn’t know where John was. I needed to do that to feel like I could do something, anything.” I start. Ashe, being the amazing person that she is, comes and sits on the bed with me. She doesn’t look wary of me anymore, just intrigued. “They came to me, telling me that they were doing this behind my Father’s back. They found another student’s body. It was horrible. I won’t tell you the details, but Govos and Kusho were desperate. They wanted to get the bastard. They noticed that most of the students targeted were theater students. Even more interesting they were the ones with talent. Ones that were the most beautiful. The most unique. The lead roles.”

“Why didn’t they use anyone from the school?”

“Because all of the students that died were a part of Kinkou, it was better to have someone outside help. They assumed that Jhin would have known who to kill when without being caught, so they wanted someone that could tempt Jhin so much he couldn’t stop himself. Enter me, a genetic anomaly who’s hair literally sparkles and has four colors in two eyes. They approached me during a school day. I agreed. I snuck out every single practice John had to go to the theater teacher and learn how to act. I didn’t have long, as we decided to go during a summer festival, one that celebrated flowers. It was going to be hosted outside the school, under the light of the full moon. I snuck out that night. My family likes to have movie nights, and I faked feeling ill. I snuck out and let Kusho and Govos bring me to the festival. On the way there, Kusho and Govos told me that all I had to do was walk in plain sight. Talk with other people. Smile. Basically show off my eyes and hair. They would watch for me in civilian clothes. They did that. Everywhere I walked, I saw them right behind me, looking at booths or just talking to other people. Everyone was tense. And in that moment, I felt alive. I wasn’t scared. I was a hunter, and that made my blood pump. I think Kusho and Govos regretted asking me as I’d go interact with little kids and they’d bring me somewhere really quickly, but I felt so good making those kids smile. I doubt they lost me though. I always saw them. It made me feel a little bit safer knowing that someone would know when something could go wrong. It took until nightfall before we found Jhin.”

“How did you find him?”

“These kids, they brought me to a puppet show. That’s where I met the teacher. He was smiling at the other kids, but the moment he saw me, he couldn’t look away. I felt so uncomfortable in it, I started to get scared.”

_ “Well, hello there.” Jhin offers his hand. I go for a handshake, but he kisses it. It was so uncomfortable. I look over my shoulder for any signs of Kusho or Govos. There were none. _

_ “H-h-hi.” I stammer. He’s being awfully weird. _

_ “What is your name?” He purrs. A shiver flows down my spine. His eyes flick between my unusual ones. _

_ “I-i-it’s Leilah, sir.” I answer him. _

_ “Khada Jhin.” He introduces himself. I do my damndest not to pale. Govos and Kusho, they mentioned that Jhin was a suspected killer. They just needed proof, and he’s… examining me like I’m a prize. “You are beautiful. Tell me, how would you feel about becoming a star?” Jhin asks. His hand reaches to my hair and pulls it forward. Before he can do anything, a small child reaches for his shirt. I quickly start to braid my hair out of his grip. Not all of it, around half. _

_ “Mister, puppets!” The little boy cried out. Jhin tilts his head slightly, as if noticing the kids for the first time. He turns back to me. _

_ “Might I get some assistance from you, Miss Leilah?” Jhin offers his hand. The children all squeal and look expectantly at me. With a shaky smile, I take it. _

“Oh, my god.” Ashe looks a little green. I nod.

“I was going to perform a puppet show, behind curtains, with a suspected killer. I was terrified of this man. Then I saw Govos come around and I felt a little bit of courage. He was watching us. I wouldn’t be suspicious. We could catch this guy.”

_ He pulls me behind the stage and gave me two puppets to control, both of them girls. We perform his little play. I read along as Jhin gets more and more into the story. It’s just a child’s story, but he is definitely invested in it. His voice gets more and more gravelly, making every single bad character he plays comes to life. Every time my character comes in, I have to swallow the lump in my throat. The acting lessons definitely helps, but it’s just too long for me. What feels like eternity turns out to be only ten minutes. When the play is done, Jhin pulls back the curtains. The children cheer and bunch around me. I notice Jhin stare at me intently. I blink as a really, really bad idea comes in. I gently push the kids back to the festival before looking back at Jhin. While I’m talking to him, I undo my braid a little bit. _

_ “That was really fun, Mr. Jhin. Maybe… Oh never mind.” I start, acting shy. It really is just an act. I’ve never felt so alive before. I’ve never felt so much like me before. _

_ “What is it, Leilah?” Jhin asks, stepping closer. _

_ “I… I would like to take you up on your offer, but I’m not sure I’ll be good enough.” I stammer.  _

_ “Come with me, my dear. I have just the costume for you.” Jhin wraps a skinny arm around my shoulders. I start braiding again. _

_ “Could I meet you after the festival perhaps? I’d like to get some food. All that stage nerves has made me hungry.” I try to excuse myself. Jhin seems to ponder before nodding. _

_ “Meet me in the gym. I can perfect my costume to fit you better.” Jhin agrees. I pull my braid out and walk away. _

_ “Mind telling me what that was about?” Govos sneaks up behind me. I don’t flinch. Instead, I look at him with even eyes. He’s surprised that I look so directly at him. I don’t doubt he’s surprised. I have never attempted to initiate eye contact first. _

_ “I think I just got Jhin to meet me outside of the festival. In the gym.” I mutter as I rebraid my hair, this time braiding all of it. _

Ashe is silent, taking in the fact that I told her about how I managed to trap a serial killer. I stop talking, partially because I need water, but mostly that I needed a moment to compose myself.

“I asked for a loaf of bread. Then I told Kusho and Govos that the story we told was of Hansel and Gretal before walking off.”

“You didn’t perform that story, did you?” Ashe whispers. I shake my head.

“I forgot what the play was about, but I remember the story I used. Govos was confused, because he knew the story wasn't about Hansel and Gretel. He tried to ask me but I went away. Govos and Kusho were frustrated. I backed them into a corner.”

“Why couldn’t they stop you?” Ashe demands. “You’re a kid!”

“I walked away too fast for them to react. Besides, I really wanted to stop Jhin, and no one was going to stop me.”

“You shouldn’t have the strength to do any of that!” 

“No one knows what they are capable of until they have to!” I stand up and start to pace. “I was tired of being the scared little girl who would jump at nothing! I didn’t want that anymore! Govos and Kusho gave me a chance!”

“That could have backfired on you badly! You could have become catatonic, terrified of everything. You could have died!”

“I NEEDED THE CHANCE, ASHE!” I scream. Ashe quiets down. I finally realize I’m panting from exertion. “I needed the chance to prove to myself… That I can be stronger than who I was. I thought… I thought that the police were strong. My Father found me tied in chains with needles in my body, Ashe! He never shed a tear while they were lifting my broken body off the slab I was attached to. He made sure the hospital would keep me safe. He catches bad guys. Maybe if I helped catch one, I could be strong as well! I became terrified of being hurt… And I was done. For years, I was scared and I decided I was done being scared. Yes, I was reckless. If I could do it over again, though, I wouldn’t change a damn thing. I would still do it, because that was the only way I could truly prove that I am strong enough to get past the worst and be better, stronger for it.” 

“You were strong enough to survive at nine. Why did you not feel strong-”

“Because I didn’t fight back then. I was too scared to. The opportunity Kusho and Govos gave me, it was a chance, a do over. And I did it!” I struggle to breath. In fact, My legs stop working. Ashe yelps as she has to reach out to catch me as I fall. “I… I beat it. I beat him. I won.”

_ “Jhin, you wanted to see me?” I hide the bread behind my back. The gym is dark. The curtains are closed. Suddenly the lights flicker up. I flinch a little bit from the sudden light. Looking at it, I feel my face pale. _

_ It’s not a costume, but a contraption. I can see where my arms and legs would be tied down, and ripped apart. I can see some tools to hold and cut out my unique traits. Scissors and scoopers. I back away, a feeling of fear rising. _

_ “Leilah? I wasn’t ready for you yet. You must be eager.” Jhin's voice echoes through the gym. Footsteps echo. I immediately scramble to go hide somewhere, anywhere. I look at the bleachers. I manage to run to them before stopping.  _

“I remember thinking back then, ‘what am I doing? I told myself I was stronger than this, so why am I trying to hide? I need to be strong enough to bring him to Kusho and Govos.’ That’s when I stopped being scared. Sure, I was afraid, but dammit, I wasn’t going to be scared out of doing the things I needed to.”

_ I turn around and run as fast as I can to the doors. I start to open them when I hear him cackle. _

_ “Yes, Run, Leilah. Run fast. I need your blood pumping for the art to be perfect!” Jhin laughs happily. “Run, little star! RUN!” _

_ I do as he suggests, but this time I actually think. I warned Govos that I think I found the killer with my braid. I let it go when I didn’t think I was in danger. And I fully braided my hair when I was sure that I found him and I needed back up. I’m sure Govos would bring Kusho. I left early so Jhin would focus on me. I’ll admit, it was very risky, but Kusho, Govos and I all agreed that he needed to be completely distracted. He needed to focus only on me, but Kusho and Govos needed to know how to find me. That’s where the bread comes in handy. I throw bread crumbs the entire time I’m running to the edges of the hall. I can hear Jhin’s footsteps try to follow me. _

_ “Where are you, my masterpiece? Show yourself.” He demands. His voice echoes both in my ears and just in my mind. I hear different words, though. Instead of ‘masterpiece’, ‘my star’, I hear ‘subject’. I grab the first door I come across and go in, leaving breadcrumbs in the door. It’s a janitorial closet. I happily took that. Once the crumbs are piled outside, I gently close the door. There’s a loud click as it closes, and I freeze. The footsteps grow louder until they stop outside the door. My heart is pounding my ears. I want to move, but I’m afraid to. _

_ “Little Star, I know you are in here.” Jhin’s velvety voice murmurs. He throws open the door and reaches down for me. I scream for a short time until Jhin covers my mouth. _

_ “LEILAH!” I hear Kusho cry out for me. Jhin does as well as he immediately closes the door again. It’s a much softer click this time. He wraps one arm around my neck and the other over my mouth. I want to scream, to do anything, but all I can do is tremble. I felt like I was getting kidnapped all over again. _

“I’ll be honest, I thought I was in over my head. I really was. I thought I would die and I wouldn’t get to say goodbye to my parents, to John, to Ez and Nasus. I thought Jhin would get away with it. And well, if he was going to, I was going to make sure that he was going down.”

_ I carefully reach up and press against Jhin’s hand. He doesn’t realize what I’m doing until I bite down on his hand. The theater teacher in him stops him from screaming, but at least if I die, he won’t be mark free. They will find him and kill him. I will stop him. _

_ “Govos, you sure?” They sound like they are right outside the door. _

_ “No other door has crumbs outside.” Govos mutters before flinging the door open. Both of them point flashlights at Jhin. He’s stunned from the lights. I take my chance and slam a foot into Jhin’s. He yelps and lets go. I duck out of his reach and run to the cops. Govos catches me as I cry. Kusho keeps his gun trained on Jhin. _

_ “Khada Jhin, you are under arrest for the murder of thirty students at this school. You have the right to remain silent…” Kusho arrests the man while Govos holds me tightly. I glance out of the corner of my eye to see Jhin’s eyes trained on me. _

_ “I will have my masterpiece, Leilah. I will come back.” Jhin promises before being escorted away. Govos helps me out of the school. Even more lights light up. I see Father in the front. He notices me struggling to stand and lines his gun on Govos. _

_ “Govos Usan, Kusho Usan, you are under arrest for the endangerment of a minor.” Father sounds absolutely furious. Govos sighs and helps me sit down. I cling to him tightly. _

_ “Govos-” _

_ “I deserve this, kid. You did great. You caught a criminal. How do you feel?” Govos pulls me into a hug to ask me without everyone else hearing us. _

_ “...I never felt better.” I close my eyes and just cry on his shoulder. That statement has never been truer. _

_ “Usan, you are to release her this instant or we will shoot.” Father barks. Govos lets me go and shakes my hand. _

_ “I think it’s safe to say you are strong. Keep being yourself, Leilah. You’ll be great.” Govos whispers before he stands and walks away. He even drops his gun. Father runs over to me and picks me up like I’m a little child again. All I can see is the heartbreak on Shen’s face as his brother and dad are led into cars of their own. _

Ashe’s hand is combing itself through my hair. It’s really nice feeling someone else run their fingers through them. I think she’s even braiding my hair. It’s also really nice to let out my story. I didn’t realize how much I’ve been holding in. I feel like there’s a heavy weight that was released. It’s remarkably therapeutic. Also, I would really like to stay in the house and not have to go somewhere else. Ashe and the others are really nice.

“... You never told John about this?” Ashe asks. I shake my head no. “Why?”

“He’s worried about me since we were nine. How would he feel hearing that I willingly went in?” I point out. Ashe sighs before leaning against the bed.

“Are you going to have nightmares?” She asks.

“...No. I stopped having them after that night. Does that make me weird?”

“I mean, I’m not screaming for a therapist for you. I think we can both be called weird.” Ashe points out. We both let out weak laughs before we get quiet again. She just plays with my hair. There’s a knot in my chest from feeling anxious about Ashe’s judgement on me. God, I hope she doesn’t hate me.

“So… Do I pass?” I try to joke. It falls flatter than roadkill, but Ashe lets out a soft smile.

“Well, you aren’t a criminal. You’re just a mad woman that goes off into danger.” Ashe states. I shrug my shoulders.

“People were dying. I’m more of my Father’s daughter than I thought.” I remark.

“Fair enough. He’s going back?” She changes the subject.

“...He doesn’t have a choice. Five of the worst are out, three of whom are directly in contact with my family or me.”

“Seriously?”

“Let me just say, I did not volunteer us to be like that.” I can’t help but snark. I yawn and look out the window. It’s almost night time. I blush and start to stand up. My phone dings. Ashe gets it for me.

It’s a message from John. He knows that we’ve been bunkered down in my room. The rest of his friends have all dropped their stuff off. And they’re ordering pizza. Over the next week, we’re going to be helping Yasuo and Yone move in. And he’s ordering me a veggie pizza and wants to know what Ashe wants.

“What kind of pizza do you want?” 

“Oh, Tuna pizza.” She replies. I stop for a full ten seconds (I watched the seconds change on my phone) before looking back at her.

“Tuna?”

“Yep.”

“...Tuna…”

“My bodyguard made the best Tuna pizzas.”

“...No.”

“It’s really not that bad.”

“I was ok with the Iced Hot Chocolate. Tuna Pizzas are a bit much.”

“I can not believe that Tuna pizza can taste this good.” I remark as I take a bite of the fishy pizza on one of Ashe’s couches. She sits on the other. I gave into Ashe’s request and told my brother to order some. Even he was weirded out by it, but he ordered it because she’s letting us room here for a bit. She ate a slice of veggie and demanded I eat a little bit of hers. John looked green when I take a bite of her pizza. It really isn’t that bad.

“Told you.”

“You have the weirdest taste buds.” I try to fire back.

“You are still eating it.” Ashe retorts. I grumble and eat another bite. Ez plops down next to us and slurps up a slice of some meat lover’s.

“I can’t believe you, Beautiful. How is anyone going to kiss you?” He teases me.

“I have toothpaste.” I deadpan. Just to spite him, I take a huge bite. He winces at the sight but lets it go. I feel another bump in the couch and notice Yone has plopped himself down next to me.

“I can understand being kind to the host, but I believe you are going too far.” Yone teases. He relaxes against the couch with his slice of my veggie pizza. 

“I’m honest. Besides, Ashe did a kindness for me. I owe her one.” I snort. “And oi! I thought you and Yasuo ordered a green pepper and hamburger pizza.”

“Your brother ordered four meat lovers and three salads.” Yone returns. 

“I… did he also order like five sodas?”

“Yep. Though, his tastes aren’t that bad. Root beer, ginger ale, sunkist.” Yone grabs a red cup full of ginger ale and takes a sip.

I shake my head and keep eating. It’s very relaxing being around Yone, Ez, and Ashe. Well, it is relaxing until Yasuo jumps over the back and sits next to Ashe while John and Nasus join in. I can already sense that there’s going to be craziness from Ez and Yasuo very soon.

“Anyone want to play beer pong?” Yasuo asks.

“Yasuo…” Yone is reaching for his forehead.

“There’s root beer, brother. We can play with that.” Yasuo points out. Yone looks up before shaking his head again.

“You’re all going to loose.” He declares. John raises an eyebrow before looking at Ashe.

“Can we use your table?” John asks. With that, there’s an impromptu beer pong competition. I manage to stay out of their game, since I’m not a sports player and would give an unfair advantage to the team without me, though it was interesting to see who teamed up with who. Nasus, Yone, and Ashe are on one team, John, Yasuo, and Ez on the other. We actually had to implement a rule that the other team has to miss in order to drink, they are all that good. They didn’t miss a single shot the first game, so it was really quick. It got to the point that the teams were allowed to mess with the other’s shot by the second game. I laugh at Ez’s and Yasuo’s attempts, blowing the shots out. Nasus and Ashe do much better, staring their opponents down. Somehow Yone and his team won after two hours of trying. It’s remarkably hard for them to miss. 

“I think we won.” John is such a sore loser.

“Why is that?” Yone asks. He has a brilliant smile on his face as he relaxes on the couch, a cup of ginger ale in his hand. Yasuo is slumped nearby. Ashe and I are helping to clean everything up.

“We made Leilah laugh more. She’s the referee.” John points out.

“Don’t bring me into your sore loser-ness!” I yell over my shoulder. I start to wash the dishes. Ashe goes on drying duty.

“But I’m your twin!”

“Nasus is my favorite. Ashe is awesome. That’s two to one.” I call back. I hear a thumping to the doorway and see John and Ez giving me pouty faces. Damn their genetics, I’m a sucker for their puppy dog eyes.

“What about me?” Ez whines. I sigh.

“Fine, two to two. Make it three to two and we’ll say that’s the winner.” I remark. Yasuo groans from the other room.

“Well, sorry, John. We both know who she’s going to pick.” 

“Who?” Yone’s innocent question has all the men snicker and Ashe gape. 

“You know what, Yone?” I hear the amusement in Yasuo’s voice and brace for a fallout. “You’re too young to understand.”

I shake my head and relax as all the boys start arguing over who I would choose as the winner. Yasuo remarks that he’s the funny one, Yone as the more collected one. There’s even arguments over who smells better or who’s drink is more inclined to be my preference. Seriously, they’re going in circles.

“Well, whoever makes Leilah swoon will be the winner?” Ez remarks. I roll my eyes. Yasuo snickers but doesn’t say anything. My friends need to stop pairing me with him. I have classes I need to focus on, not a relationship. 

Once the dishes are done, I sneak upstairs, looking forward to a somewhat quiet night. Tomorrow’s a new day, with exploring the campus and figuring out where all my new classes are. Especially since I think my classes are all over the place.

I’m in the middle of brushing my teeth in the bathroom that we all agreed what Ashe’s and mine when the door knocks. I open the door to see Yone standing outside. I try to say something through the toothpaste but it ends up being garbled. 

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to say thank you for the dishes and being a referee. I haven’t had fun like that in a long time.” Yone is kind. I finish brushing my teeth and wipe my mouth.

“You really don’t have to… wait, you haven’t had fun in a long time?”

“I… It’s nothing. Good night Leilah.” Yone scampers away. Well, by scamper I mean walks away quickly and elegantly. I watch after him with a little bit of concern.

I guess I’m not the only one in the house with deep dark secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I gave some love to this story. Well, there you go! Leilah is a remarkably strong person. She's one of those people that could be held hostage for weeks and come out needing a little therapy. What Zed and Kusho did really was wrong, I will not argue that, but to Leilah, they are her heroes. I wonder what it would be like for them to see her again?
> 
> I was debating whether or not to tell part of Leilah's past, but I thought that Ashe knowing that she's arguing with her brother is enough to cause a scene makes Ashe want to know her housemate's secrets. And I also think that Leilah does want to talk about it, she just couldn't with people she's close to. Ashe is also threatening to throw her and her twin out, so she's honest.
> 
> As usual, I hope you guys have an extraordinary day! Feel free to take a look at Extraordinary one-shots. That is my area for seeing how others see Leilah, and some of Starshadow's perception. Orm if you don't want any sort of clues, feel free to ignore it.


	5. Chapter 5

The sunlight wakes me up this time. My eyelids twitch at the bright intrusion and I turn away from the light. I want to go back to sleep.

I had such an awful night too. Dreams of people laughing, of being hunted woke me up constantly. With the occasional sharp needle appearing in the corner of my eye. God, I never slept so badly before. Gun shots and pain. Wires and sharp metal cuffs. The last time I couldn’t sleep so well was when I went home. Back when I was nine. There were less things to have nightmares about, but it still sucked. I think I woke up everytime I started to dream. I, thankfully, don’t think I screamed that much. Not like when I was nine. John was always the first to bolt into my room, followed by my parents. I think a few neighbors came by our house to check up on me those nights too, so I know I screamed loud. There was also a bit of a commotion sometime around three, but I wasn’t sure if that was part of my dreams or when I was awake.

I sit up with a loud groan. I really don’t want to be up, but I do have things I need to do today, like look at where my classes are going to be, check out where the clubs are going to be, and organize my room. Maybe do something with John so we can both destress from yesterday. I think I’ll try to hang out with Ashe some more. She both knows more and less than John. Maybe we can get to know each other more. Though, perhaps after I’ve had something to help with my headache.

I yank on a cover up with a yawn. It’s a safety hoodie that my mother bought online. I had one specifically to help me feel safe at night, covered in stars so when I’d wake up I’d see them and remember that I’m out. It certainly helped calm me down on nights when I didn’t wake up screaming. I outgrew that one after a year. That set off even more night terrors, so my parents kept buying them. I stopped outgrowing them when I was sixteen. This one in particular has been with me for two years. It’s a little worn in some spots, but it’s still in good condition. My favorite constellation, the one of the warrior, is resting over my heart. A quick brush over it for luck, just like how I used to do so when I was younger, and I felt better. I felt like I could be ready for anything. So, once I pull up some booty shorts, I open my door to the new day.

“You ok?”John’s leaning outside my door. Once I make a mini grand appearance, he pushes himself off the wall. He accompanies me to Ashe and my bathroom.

“Yeah, I’m ok. Why?”

“You woke up a few times, didn’t you.” John doesn’t ask. He just states.

“No.” I try to lie.

“You’re wearing the hoodie, Leilah. You never wear that hoodie unless you had a rough night.” John points out. Curse him and his occasional observant self.

“Just nightmares. It’s nothing I haven’t had before.” I reply and shut the bathroom door on him. I go about my business. John lets out a noise of frustration before leaving the area. I start to brush my teeth when another knock happens at my door. A soft growl of annoyance escapes my throat as I start brushing my teeth. I open the door to a pair of blue eyes.

“Mind if I brush my teeth too?” Ashe asks. I nod and pull back the door. She closes it behind her and starts to put toothpaste on her brush. “What happened between you and John?”

I spit out the toothpaste in my mouth.

“You heard that?”

“Well, something about a hoodie. Anything you want to talk about?” Ashe answers me while she brushes her teeth.

“It’s just something between John and I, nothing to worry about.” I snap a little bit. She raises an eyebrow at that before spitting out the foam in her mouth.

“No need to get defensive, Leilah.” Ashe holds up her hands. I sigh and rub my eyes.

“Sorry.”

“No… I get it. It was kind of my fault for pushing yesterday.” Ashe wipes her face before skipping to the door. “What do you want for breakfast?” 

“If John’s up, he’s probably already raiding your fridge for scrambled eggs. Might want to hurry. He’s not a good cook.” I laugh a little bit. 

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t burn down my house… Pancakes?” Ashe asks.

“How do you make yours?”

“I like to whip the egg whites-”

“That’s enough for me. I’ll be down shortly to help.” I tie my hair back to properly wash my face. Ashe gives a little noise of agreement before going to save her kitchen… and probably the house. Ez and John in the same room usually means that there’s going to be some sort of argument that’ll go into a fight… in this case, it might end in a food fight… Some day, just some day, John and Ez aren’t going to test their skills on each other every time they get together…

Once I’ve cleaned my face up, I step out and just so happen to bump into someone else. Thankfully that someone just so happens to hold me up so I don’t fall over. It’s not Ez or Nasus, Ez would have made a flirty line and Nasus’s hands are huge… Must be one of the brothers.

“I’m sorry, I-” Yone and I both speak at the same time before we realize what we’re doing. A soft chuckle from Yone puts me at ease.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Yone asks politely.

“Not the worst I had, but I’ll manage. And you?” I answer. Yone tilts his head slightly at my little confession. 

“Fairly well. I certainly hope that you will be able to sleep better as time goes on.” Yone starts to walk. I stick by him as we go over to the kitchen.

“I will. I just need a few days to get used to this situation. I’ve been in worse before.” I shrug my shoulders casually. There’s a dull thud as we walk down the stairs. Yone’s face twists into concern.

“Would that happen to be…”

“My twin and his best friend. Ez can’t seem to stop flirting with me and teasing John while John can’t stop being an overprotective brother.” I sigh a little bit. My cheeks are blushing quite a bit, though I’m not sure why. Probably because we’re all in this together and he is realizing that my sibling is absolutely obnoxious. Not many people know of their chaos unless you lived with them… 

“Seems like it’s quite a nice relationship.” Yone observes.

“It is to them. Add Nasus into the mix, and they know that they can go all out because they trust Nasus to stop them.” I smile fondly thinking of them. A louder thump echoes in the walls before a door creaks open and I hear both of them yelp. Yone and I come around the corner to see Ashe starting to make her pancakes while Nasus wipes his hands.

“You would think that your twin and Ez would learn to act their age.” Nasus sighs. I pat his side before helping Ashe. She’s already whipping the egg whites into a fluffy foam, so I try to get the dry ingredients.

“Nah. That’s the attraction of them. When they’re at ease or they sense someone needs a laugh, they don’t mind making a fool of themselves.” I defend my twin a little bit, searching for the flour.

“Perhaps.” Nasus agrees slightly. I can hear it in his tone that he doesn’t exactly approve.

“Something wrong, Nasus?” I stop my search to see the man is uncomfortable. Yone and Nasus have taken spots opposite of the counter where Ashe is mixing the wet ingredients. Nasus has his hands on the counter, fisted. Yone simply stands there.

“It’s nothing.” Nasus shakes his head. I narrow my eyes before leaving. My hand pulls him with me as we go somewhere more private. 

“Something wrong?” I repeat with my arms crossed. Nasus runs a hand through his hair and sighs.

“It’s just… I’m not really feeling like I’m their friend. We used to do everything together until Ez started to flirt with you… Then John spent more time fighting him and just… I just threw them out the door so they could fight each other outside but… I want to hang out with them too.” Nasus stammers a little bit. I feel for him. I really do. I haven’t noticed because as John likes to say, I’m social blind. As much as I hate to admit it… My twin isn’t exactly wrong…

“Sorry, Nasus.” Ez apologizes, startling the two of us. I didn’t realize that they ended their fight rather quickly. Nasus looks very uncomfortable while John yanks his other best friend into a hug.

“How did you-”

“Leilah’s the social blind one. I’m not.” John yanks Nasus into a huge hug. I slip out and let the trio talk it out. Annoyingly enough, John’s right. He can handle a situation with friends better than I can. And if it’s anyone that’s going to save a friendship from falling apart, it’ll be John. He probably spotted how Nasus looked before I did and came in, waiting for the right time to talk. Ezreal probably followed his lead. Those three, even I sometimes wonder if he’s my brother or theirs. They’re thick as thieves.

“Everything all right?” Ashe asks as I come back in. Nosy girl.

“Yeah. Just a small argument. Nothing to worry too much about. Orange juice?” I dismiss and redirect. Yone nods his agreement while Ashe asks for water. She’s already mixing the batter for pancakes. I quickly look at it before getting more dry ingredients.

“I made enough.” Ashe protests as she starts folding in the egg whites.

“John, Nasus, and Ez were able to finish four pizzas by themselves, and that’s after everything. What makes you think that amount of batter will feed us all? That’s not even mentioning Yone and Yasuo.” I point out. She blinks at her almost full bowl.

“There’s no way that all the boys can eat this amount of batter by themselves.” She’s in denial. It’s cute.

“Actually, Yasuo may require more breakfast if what Leilah says is true…” Yone folds his hands, a little uncomfortable being in the center of attention now that he has it. Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed. It’s kinda interesting, especially if he wants to be a diplomat. Still, he doesn’t need to be embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a good thing my parents are well respected in their fields and they agreed to pay for our college. Otherwise, we’d have to get more scholarships than we already have just to feed John.” I scoop out a bit more flour before raiding her fridge for anything. Apparently, I have to give Tryndamere my undying thanks, because his fridge is not only large, but full of plenty of groceries. “How come the fridge is packed? It wasn’t like this last night.”

“My mother insisted on getting enough food for us before you woke up. She called me at three in the morning to help get all the food in. She told me that she’ll send the bill to all your parents and to Yone for how much food she bought.” Ashe explains as she begins to pour batter onto a heated griddle. That was probably what the noise was at three this morning. Yone simply watches as the pancakes grow in size.

“How does she know-”

“Professor Azir and my Mother apparently took a few classes together. Both were fans of archeology, but Mom chose the path of a politician.” Ashe explains. The pancakes smell heavenly right now.

“What kind of pancakes are these?” Yone asks.

“I call them s’mores pancakes. I mixed a little chocolate and marshmallow into the mix.” Ashe sounds rather proud of the fact. Even after a day, I can’t be surprised about her taste buds any more. Seriously, how am I supposed to be surprised about chocolate and marshmallows on pancakes after having a tuna pizza and she likes iced hot chocolate? It’s just not possible.

“What’s wrong with berries?” I apparently can’t help but protest.

“At least it isn’t Yasuo. If he can get syrup and bacon with his pancakes, he’s happy.” Yone chuckles a little bit. I point at him.

“John’s the same, though he’ll deny it to his very last breath that he eats syrup with pancakes.” I joke. A small smile twitches at his lips. Our eyes lock for a moment before I bustle around. My cheeks heat up a little bit, though I concentrate on making the best pancakes around.

“That… can not be healthy.” Ashe remarks as she takes off the first of the pancakes. Yasuo decides that now is the perfect time to enter the room, in only his briefs…

“Yasuo!” Yone sharp reprimand seems to be enough to wake the poor guy up. He quickly notices me and Ashe standing in front of a slowly growing pile of pancakes, looks down at his body, and very quickly vacates the room. Ashe and I turn to each other before breaking out into giggles. “I apologize for-”

“No need. John’s my twin. I’ve seen him in nothing before.” I wave off Yone’s attempt to apologize.

“And Tryndamere, you tend to get used to seeing rather undressed people. He boxes in his spare time.” Ashe adds on. Yone raises an eyebrow in intrigue before nodding his head.

“Still-”

“Really, Yone, don’t worry.” I stop my pancake making for only a moment to place my hand on his shoulder before going back to what I was doing. I see Ashe make a little bit of a face, though I dutifully ignore it in favor of making my preferred pancakes… Citrus flavored ones.

Ashe finishes her impressive pile of twenty-five pancakes by the time my batter is ready. The sweet smell of lemon and orange would tempt anyone. Ashe and Yone make a surprised face at the smell my pancakes give off while I start to prepare my berry toppings. Ashe grabs four before the rest of the missing residents come back. Yasuo has a bathrobe over his body while Nasus is animatedly talking with my brother. I ignore the tear stains on their cheeks. Tough men act… Not sure what it really does to help, but whatever makes them happy… All four guys are immediately attracted to the s’mores pancakes, completely polishing them off before Yone or us chefs get a chance to grab any. My blank stare at my family forces my brother and his friend to relinquish two pancakes each. I sigh and wave them to my new friends.

“That’s probably all we’ll get out of them.”

“These are delicious!” Yasuo proclaims after he finishes his first bite. Ashe puts on a brilliant smile.

“I was taught well.” Ashe tries to be humble. I steal a pancake and take a bite out of it. While it’s not exactly my favorite, she did a really good job using chocolate and marshmallows in the pancakes. 

“For someone with some rather unusual taste buds, you make some really great food.” I mumble through my bite, flipping over the pancakes on the griddle. Ten down… ten gone… “John!”

“I wasn’t the only one!” John protests. He’s not lying. All four late arrivals do indeed have quite a few citrus pancakes on their plates, along with my berry topping. Nasus even joined in. Whatever John and Ez said to him, I’m glad that they’re back to their normal friendliness, but my breakfast!

“At least make sure the rest of us get something to eat.” I grumble. Yasuo takes another bite and looks between the two of us before pointing at Ashe.

“Marry me.” Yasuo demands. Yone immediately thumps his head on the counter while my family cackles.

“Sorry, Yasuo, but I already have a fiance. I’m set to marry him when I graduate.” Ashe laughs a little bit. Ez slips around the counter and wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“You already knew that Beautiful was taken. Good choice.”

“Not by you.” Ashe laughs a little bit. Ez pouts before nodding. He steals another fresh pancake. I try to stop him, but his speed is rather legendary in my school. I don’t have a chance.

“That’s a good point.” Yasuo glances between his brother and I. I ignore it as it really doesn’t matter much. Besides, I have to defend my measly pile of four pancakes from the thieves called Ez and Yasuo. Seriously, is it that hard to wait for a minute or two for the next batch? I look back down to see Ashe has stolen one of my pancakes.

“Ashe!” I’m flabbergasted. This… This is rude.

“What? They smelled good with the berries. Besides, you have more coming. And you stole one of mine.” Ashe defends herself calmly while biting into the pancake… I guess she’s not wrong… 

“Fine.” I pout a little bit. John snickers before… stealing another one of my pancakes. “Steal someone else's!”

“There’s another batch! Give up the pancakes.” John distracts me while Ez slips the plate out and dishes it to my friends. I glower at them, the last of the batter going onto the griddle. At least this time they’re a little slower at grabbing them.

“I have to say, the s’mores pancakes are definitely the epitome of cakes, though I really enjoy the critic and berry pancakes more.” Yone remarks as he finishes up his meal. Finally, my brother and his friends pat full stomachs. Out of all of them, Ez starts to grab empty plates from everyone and starting to do the dishes. I blink in surprise, expecting Nasus or Yone to get to it first.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Nasus asks, much more relaxed than I’ve seen him. John and Ez must have agreed with something to help him feel more like he’s one of them. That might actually explain why Ezreal was so kind to help with the dishes today, actually.

“Well, us football players need to go see Garen for practice this afternoon. He wants to see us in action. He’s planning a skirmish for us to assess our skills.” John pipes up. Nasus and Ezreal nod, confirming that John isn’t lying.

“I have a TA meeting to go to as well, but I am generally free this morning.” Yone adds in his two cents. Someone’s phone buzzes. Turns out to be Ashe’s phone as she pulls it out to look at it.

“It looks like the first meeting for the Paintball wars are also in the afternoon.”

“I’d like to go around campus to figure out where all the classes are. We can do that this morning.” I suggest. Everyone nods in agreement, even Ez at the dishwasher.

“Do you have your class schedule? As I recall, Professor Ryze didn’t exactly ask for when you would be available.” Yone points out.

“I don’t have to worry too much about that. Ryze is an old friend of my uncle’s. He used to babysit me and John all the time. He knows that while John prefers afternoon classes, I like the morning ones. I trust him with my schedule.” I shrug my shoulders. Ez swoops my new plate from in front of me to finish up the dish washing.

“I feel like out of all of us, Yone and I don’t have as much sway with the university as you guys do.” Yasuo observes.

“Nah. The only reason why we have any sort of connection with the university is from the Starshadows.” Nasus points out.

“Let me get my phone and actually get dressed before we go anywhere.” I excuse myself. All us freshmen seem to realize the wisdom in my words as we all return back to our rooms to get dressed for the day. Yone, being the most mature out of all of us, is already dressed for the day.

Thankfully, I don’t have John to bother me about how I look. I can just wear my favorite kind of clothes. A baggy, sleeveless dark blue hoodie that reaches past my hips and black leggings are yanked onto my body. I slip on a pair of socks and sneakers before grabbing a thin scarf. This one… this one’s special. It’s very, very rare that I don’t wear it. It’s the scarf I was given when I helped take down Jhin. Somehow, Shen managed to track me down and give me a scarf. Apparently, his father and brother had custom ordered it. It’s a beautiful, soft with stars. I never told my family exactly where I got it from, but it’s always been a sign of courage to me. I didn’t wear it yesterday, not expecting anything to go wrong. With everything that’s happened, and my nightmares from last night… I want to wear it again.

A quick brush through my hair and I’m ready for the day. Once I grab my phone, I escape my room and slip downstairs. I didn’t think I took that long, but Yone’s already sipping on a steaming travel mug of… something. He glances up before tilting his head slightly.

“After yesterday, I would have thought you would take more time to prepare.” Yone comments lightly. I slide into a seat next to him while looking for my schedule. Ryze should have sent the email…

“That’s… That’s just the first day of class. I usually prefer to wear hoodies, t-shirts, and leggings.” I shrug. Yone, decked out in smart and crisp clothes, nods. Another sip while I look for my schedule.

Ryze did send it to me. I just need to mark down when and where… let’s see…

_ Art 101 with Miss Anivia Eagle: LEC MWF 9AM-12PM _

_ Location: Freljord Hall RM 215 _

_ Astrology 101 with Professor Zoe Myisha: LEC MWF 7AM-7:50AM _

_ Location: Targon Hall RM 309 _

_ Chemistry 101 with Professor Arthur Degnis: LEC TTH 7AM-8:15AM _

_ Location: Zaun Hall RM 110 _

_ LAB M 3PM-4:30PM _

_ Location: Zaun Hall Lab 03 _

_ Diplomacy 101 with Professor Kennen Tempest: LEC: TTH 8:30AM-9:45AM _

_ Location: Ionia Hall RM 517 _

_ Math 141: Calculus with Professor Jayce Glopara: LEC: TTH 10AM-11:15AM _

_ Location: Piltover Hall RM 205 _

“So, in order, I have Astrology and Art class in the morning Monday, Wednesday, Friday with a chemistry lab at 3 on Monday, and Chemistry, Diplomacy, and Math Tuesday Thursday all morning. Freljord and Targon, with Zaun, then Zaun, Ionia, Piltover...” I mumble to myself.

“The only one that has quite a distance to walk to is Targon. Freljord, Ionia, Piltover, and Zaun are all relatively close to each other.” Yone sips his tea. I sigh and pull out my map of Runeterra University. He’s not wrong, considering that Targon in on the south west corner, while everything else is either centralized or north east.

“Where are we?” I ask. He points us to a location in the northwest corner of campus. At least, the worst I’ll have to walk is from Targon to the Freljord. Everything else should be alright. “Where are you going to be?”

“I’ll mostly be in Ionia, though I will be taking a class or two in Shurima. History is actually a very fun topic for me.” Yone answers. 

“When?”

“Well… My history classes are actually going to be in the Shadow Isles around the same time as your Astrology class. Then I’m usually in Ionia.” Yone answers. 

“It doesn’t exactly sound like it has a good reputation, being called the Shadow Isles…” I mumble.

“According to history, it used to be called the Blessed Isles until World War II broke out. They renamed it to remind every single person that comes through that class that history must be learned from, and it’s not always good history…”

“Are you guys comparing schedules?” John claps me on my shoulder, starling me as I did not expect him to be there. “I’m in Demacia alot, with a course or two in Piltover… Not at the same time as you, though. For someone who hates waking up early, you sure took some early classes… Ez is almost always in Piltover… Nasus is usually in Shurima… Sis, why do you have to be all over the map?” 

“Because unlike you, I don’t have a major yet?” I ask tensely. I really hate it when he scares me in the mornings.

“Yasuo would be in Ionia and Ixtal. He’s said he wanted to use me to pass his culture classes, even if I never took them.” Yone huffs a little bit at the thought of it.

“I’m going to be in Ionia, Freljord, and Noxus.” Ashe pipes up. For the second time in the day, I’m startled. 

“You guys need to have a few bells and whistles on you!” I complain a little bit. Yone’s lips twitch in amusement as the rest of our merry band of seven joins us. Yasuo’s tying up his hair into that fluffy ponytail, the last man to enter.

“What’s the point of that, Leilah? You know that I’ll be too fast for you to be able to hear me anyway.” Ez greets with a backwards hug. I roll my eyes before getting the group to leave our momentary residence.

Yone, as our guide, takes us to every single college. It’s really not the worst distance, though he didn’t go directly there. He makes an excellent guide, describing little landmarks that we can use to help with finding our way around, like the first number of the rooms indicating which floor, and that the numbers increase from the main entrance and goes right. Very helpful. I might not even have to worry about 

Apparently, each college, when they were founded, decided to design each college to represent something important to them. Demacia looks like a beautiful Roman college, while Noxus has a darker tone to it. The Isles… They did some remodeling… I personally didn’t like it that much… Still, it’s interesting to see the Freljord building look so warm and cozy. I would have thought it to look rather… Icy. Targon’s hall has a glass dome. That would be amazing to look through. He ends the tour at Ionia. Surprisingly, it took only an hour of our time. Now, it’s only eleven.

“All the Professors have their own offices in their designated buildings. If you’d like, I can take you there.” Yone offers again. I shake my head and wave him off.

“You’ve already done enough anyway. I’m going to try that Targon to Freljord trip again. Maybe I can find a shorter path between my classes.” I pull out my phone to check the map of campus. It seems like there might be a faster way through Demacia Hall...

“We’re going to run our own paths. Meet back up for lunch?” John suggests. Nasus and Ez give thumbs up while Yasuo and Ashe are already going their own separate ways. My family walks off, discussing when they could all hang out for classes. I wave my hand off to Yone as he goes off to find his friends… I hope.

Still, I’m glad I got to go on my little adventure. I did manage to find a path through Demacia that would get me to Freljord easier. It’ll be a tight fit… but it would work. I spent a few trips going back and forth, taking different paths to try and get the time shorter, though I’m still going to have to move if I want to be in class on time. On one of my trips, I accidentally bump into a skinny, tall man.

“I’m sorry!” I squeak out, stopping my journey and helping the man up. 

“You should watch… where you’re… going…” The man starts to scold me when he finally sees my face. His jaw drops down almost comically, if I wasn’t so concerned over his health. He does not look like a young man.

“I’m sorry, it’s just I’m new to this university and I’m just trying to figure out the best way to get from class to class.” I explain hastily. The man’s pale blue eyes stay locked on mine. Something in my gut screams that whoever this man is, I can not ever be alone with him. Something is bound to go wrong. As it is, I’m already looking around for people to watch out for me. Thankfully, it seems like other freshmen are doing the same thing as there are plenty traveling down different paths.

“You wouldn’t happen to be one of the two children born to a well known geneticist by the name of Aurora Azir, would you?” The man asks. I freeze, trying not to pale even more than I already am.

“Who are you?” I whisper a little bit. My hands are trembling. My heart starts to echo in my ears. I’m… terrified of a stranger. Why am I terrified of a stranger???

“Professor Arthur Degnis.” The man introduces himself. Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better, but he is respectable at least. The man checks his hair, making sure it’s not horribly messed up.

“My mother is Aurora Starshadow, formerly Azir.” I say honestly. I still don’t like him, but if the university hired him, he can’t be all that bad.

“So you… you must be the girl. The newest scientific discovery in genetics. Amazing. The last time anyone saw you was when you were sixteen. Pity, I never got to visit you.” Professor Degnis reaches out to touch my hair. I quickly back away.

“Well, I’m in your Chemistry 101 class. I’ll see you on Thursday then.” I try to excuse myself.

“Come by soon. Your genes are-”

“I’m afraid I’m going to be late for a meeting with my friends. Excuse me.” This time, I walk away quickly. I pull out my phone and have it guide me back to the house. I’m not sure if I’m actually going the right way, but I must be if my phone agrees.

Of course, I bump into someone else and almost fall down on my butt if it wasn’t for the person I bumped into. His hand snaps out and grabs onto my arm.

“We have got to stop meeting like this.” I grumble when I realize that it’s Yone I bumped into.

“Perhaps, though at least this way I know when you are here.” Yone jokes a little bit. The good modd disappears as he narrows his eyes at my face. “You’re pale. Something make you uneasy?”

“Just… bumped into someone I didn’t feel comfortable with.” I answer vaguely. There’s no need to trouble him with my issues, especially when it’s not really his problem.

“Well, it seems like we’re going to the same place. There has to be something we can make for the entire group.” Yone asks. We start up a little conversation between the two of us now. I tell Yone about my horrible childhood of being a lab rat for my mother while also trying to learn how to be a normal person again. He already knows a bit since I’m sure John told him most of what he knows back in the coffee shop.

“I… can kind of see it. Sounds like your history is more interesting than mine.” Yone remarks after I went into a tirade about when I was thirteen. That was absolutely infuriating… Yes, I’m still super salty about that.

“What about you?” I don’t exactly want to keep talking about myself.

“Well, my father died when I was young, my mother fell in love with my brother’s father, conceived Yasuo, and was abandoned. After that, my mother worked two jobs, trying to keep us afloat. I was too young to understand, but… he’s my brother in everything that mattered. Our great-uncle, Master Souma, owned a small dojo. He babysat us while my mother worked. Once I was old enough to realize what happened, I tried to learn the way of the ancient warriors. To be the dutiful son that would protect people. I learned how to discipline myself, and I worked hard to get into Runeterra University. I tried to be a role model to Yasuo, but he’s… more spirited than I am.” Yone summarizes his life just like that. I’ll admit… I might have been stunned for a little bit, surprised at his life.

“...Huh. Alright. I’ll admit it.” I start, a teasing tone in my throat. Yone raises an eyebrow. “You are definitely more interesting than I am.”

“Says the one that was kidnapped.” Yone protests.

“That’s not interesting! It was like three months, then six months! I didn’t have the dedication you did. I was terrified for years!”

“It’s still more interesting than my history.”

“It’s only interesting because of a moment in time. Do you have any idea how much commitment one needs in order to be like that?”

“It’s a different kind of strength to feel a fear and pain for years before overcoming it seemingly overnight.” Yone continues to argue with me.

“It wasn’t overnight. It was a few months of planning with good allies before we acted and we caught a villain and-”

“What do you mean you caught a villain?” Yone asks. I freeze for a moment.  _ I need to buy time… _

“I… This is something that I haven’t even told John.” I mumble. I only told Ashe because she needed to know so John and I wouldn’t get kicked out…

“Wait a minute… when you were a teenager… caught a villain… Akali asked if you were the girl… Her family… The Golden Demon…” I can hear when Yone connects the dots. His eyes are wide when he figures it out and points to me. I quickly put a finger to my lips.

“Don’t… say it. Not yet. I… I want to tell John first. He deserves to know. After all these years… He has the right.” I plead. Yone pauses for a moment before nodding. By now, we’re going into the house. Thank goodness this house is pin code oriented, otherwise we’d all need keys. Ashe helped reset the combo. We all came to an agreement on the code. 

Interestingly, I think we’re the first one’s back. With that in mind, I fish out a couple of ingredients for John’s favorite. He loves his sandwiches. Yone starts to grab his own supplies for his meal. I remember my brother’s little gang’s favorites, Yone would know Yasuo’s… but Ashe doesn’t have anything! With that in mind, I quickly grab my phone and shoot Ashe a text.

_ Leilah: Hey, I’m making sandwiches. You want anything specific? _

_ Ashe: PB&J works. _

_ Leilah: That is the singularly most normal food you have ever said. _

_ Ashe: Are you serious? _

_ Leilah: Iced Hot Cocoa and Tuna Pizza. _

_ Ashe: As I recall, you enjoyed the tuna pizza. _

_ Leilah:... _

_ Ashe: I bumped into your brother and co. We’ll be there in five. _

_ Leilah: Thanks. _

With that, I finish making up the sandwiches. I made sure the make extra sandwiches. Ashe’s and mine are easy… The rest… not so much. I grab a few ingredients for each one. Nasus and John like chicken. Ez ham. And they enjoy all different vegetables and condiments. It’s a bit daunting, thinking about all the sandwiches I need to make. Yone slips over to help me after seeing me attempt to make six sandwiches at the same time. He copies what I do, so we manage to finish making the sandwiches as they arrive.

“I’m starved!” John announces their presence. I want to roll my eyes at his melodramatics while I get the sandwiches for each person on their designated plate. John grabs his and Nasus’.

“Thank you, Beautiful. Now, to charm Gorgeous.” Ez takes his and Ashe’s while going over to flirt with her. She looks a little charmed by Ezreal’s flirting, but manages to remain strong. Makes me feel a little bit proud of her.

We all happily eat our sandwiches in peace when Yasuo comes barreling through the door. Literally as he’s carrying… something while also tripping over his face… It’s kind of interesting to watch the man roll onto his back and back up. He notices us all stare at him and flushes.

“...Oops? Hey, are those mine?” Yasuo points at the last sandwiches. Yone hangs in head in disappointment while Yasuo catches up with the rest of us. I swear the man doesn’t even bite anything from how fast eats. Yone looks like he wants to scold his brother for his fast eating, but in the presence of others, he decides not to. Probably to avoid a tongue lashing from me again.

“Who did you meet?” Yone keeps himself collected. Nicely done, sir.

“Ahri, Irelia, and Lillia.” Yasuo casually mentions. Yone tenses slightly from hearing the last name.

Interesting… Who is Lillia to you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I'm somewhat but not ashamed to admit that I am a little stuck in Extraordinary. I finished the rough draft of the arc, and I'm just going to work off my block in Ordinary. Besides, as fun as it is to put Leilah in mortal peril every other arc, I want to recenter myself and give Leilah a nice peaceful, sassy day in modern times.


	6. Chapter 6

After lunch, my twin, his closest friend and Yone all had their own things to talk about. The rest of us just went off to our own devices. I took to organizing my school supplies in my room, making it somewhat mine. It’s not celestial, the way I would have preferred, but I have a room. I got so absorbed in my work that I’m surprised when Yasuo came into my room to grab me for the meeting. Currently, Yasuo is running ahead of Ashe and I, ready for the Paint Wars meeting. I’ll be honest, I am just as excited for this. It’ll be nice to make some more acquaintances.

The meeting is set to take place where they held most of the club meetings from yesterday. Since it’s a massive club, I doubt that we would have all fit in a classroom. As far as I can see, a lot of us have gathered. It must be a pretty popular club to watch in that case. Thankfully, Yasuo and Ashe stick close by, even if Yasuo seems to be looking for someone.

“HELLOOO, RUNETERRA!” The meeting starts with a loud cry. Everyone gathered yells loudly. I have to cover my ears at the noise. It takes a moment before it gets a little bit quieter. The man at the front of the meeting is a dark skinned man, a little on the short side, with dreadlocks down his back. “THE NAME’S FIZZ, AND I’M THIS YEAR’S LEADER OF THE PAINT WARS CLUB. WELCOME TO OUR MEETING! WITH THAT SAID, SINCE THERE’S SO MANY OF YOU, WE’VE ARRANGED A FEW DIFFERENT SPOTS FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF FIGHTERS!”

“Different kinds of fighters?” I ask Yasuo.

“I think they’re going to be explaining all that in a moment.” Yasuo mumbles to me.

“I’M WELL AWARE THAT MOST OF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS CLUB, SO I’M GOING TO EXPLAIN. OUR GAME IS PLAYED ON A BATTLE FIELD, CURRENTLY BEING SET UP BY OUR FRIENDLY ART CLUB. WE MAKE A NEW COMPETITIVE FIELD EVERY YEAR SO THAT WAY NEW PLAYERS ARE ON THE SAME PLAYING FIELD AS OUR VETERANS. WE SET UP OUR GAMES IN TEAMS. ONLY TWO TEAMS ARE ON THE FIELD AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. THEY ARE COMPRISED OF TEN PLAYERS ON EACH TEAM. NOW, SOME OF YOU ARE THINKING, ‘HOW DO I CHOOSE MY TEAM?’. DON’T WORRY. FOR THOSE THAT SIMPLY WANT TO HAVE FUN, WE HAVE SPACE AND A PLACE FOR YOU GUYS TO PLAY WITH AND POKE EACH OTHER DOWN. THOSE THAT WANT TO GO COMPETITIVE, SORRY, BUT THOSE ARE ESTABLISHED TEAMS ONLY. ONLY THOSE INVITED TO THOSE TEAMS ARE ALLOWED TO COMPETE. DON’T WORRY TOO MUCH THOUGH, THOSE TEAMS ARE GOING TO BE SCOUTING THROUGHOUT THE NORMAL SKIRMISHES TO SEE WHO THEY WANT ON TEAMS. FEEL FREE TO SIGN UP FOR A TIME WHEN YOU CAN BATTLE. THE CAPTAINS WILL BE SCOUTING FOR THE NEXT UPCOMING COMBATANTS AND WILL ATTEND YOUR MATCHES.

“WITH THAT SAID, WE ARE A TEAM FOR PAINTBALL. ANYTHING DEALING WITH PAINT IS HOW WE FIGHT. MOST THINGS ON THIS GAME ARE ALLOWED AS LONG AS WE CAN SEE HOW SAFE IT IS. ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS LIKES TO USE A TOOL TO HOOK IN HIS OPPONENTS, WHILE ANOTHER LOVES TO USE PLANTED PAINT BOMBS. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM HAVE BEEN CHECKED TO ENSURE NO ONE IS KILLED.”

“It’s great to see that they are taking all these things seriously. That just makes it even more exciting.” Ashe comments next to me.

“AS THE YEARS HAVE GONE BY, WE’VE EVOLVED OUR GAME. OUR FACTIONS ARE DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT CLASSES, MAGES, FIGHTERS, MARKSMEN, AND TANKS. NOW, I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING, MAGES? MAGIC DOESN’T EXIST. THAT’S TRUE. MAGES HERE ARE THE ONES THAT OPERATE USING SLINGSHOTS AND A MASSIVE GRENADE OF PAINT. WE COULD CALL THEM BOMBERS, BUT-”

“IT’S MORE MAGICAL TO CALL US MAGES.” Someone interrupts Fizz. This person is… just absolutely beautiful, even if she is wearing fox ears as a headband. Seeing the girl, Yasuo jolts up a little bit in surprise.

“THANK YOU, AHRI. EVERYTHING ELSE IS RATHER SELF EXPLANATORY. KEEP IN MIND, REFEREES WILL BE WATCHING TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE IS DISOBEYING THE RULES. THREE REFEREES FOR EACH TEAM WILL BE AROUND THE MAPS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS PLAYING FAIR. THIS YEAR, WE’RE ANNOUNCING A NEW DIVISION, THE HEALERS. HEALERS ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFECT THE OPPOSING TEAM. HEALERS ARE TO GO TO THEIR DOWNED TEAMMATES AND WIPE ON RESURRECTION PAINT. WITH THAT BEING SAID, THE NUMBER OF TIMES A PLAYER IS HIT BEFORE THEY GO DOWN IS BETWEEN TWO BOMBS OF PAINT AND SIX HITS. ONCE DOWN, THE HEALERS CAN RUN TO THEIR TEAMMATE. YOU CAN NOT DRAG YOURSELF TO A SAFE SPOT, BUT YOUR TEAMMATES CAN. THE HEALER CAN RESTORE YOU LIFE TWICE. AFTER YOU ARE DOWNED THE THIRD TIME, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LEAVE. HEALERS WILL LEAVE A MARK A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN THE REST OF THE PAINT WARS, LETTING EVERYONE KNOW HOW MANY TIMES YOU HAVE FALLEN. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE WATCHERS KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE PEOPLE FALLEN, SO THOSE THAT TRY TO CHEAT WILL STILL GET CAUGHT. IF THERE ARE NO HEALERS ON YOUR TEAM… GOOD LUCK.” Fizz explains the new division really well. I rather like the idea of being a healer. Not fighting but going around to help is really nice to me. “WE’RE GOING TO SEPERATE YOU INTO YOUR DESIRED CLASS. YOU MAY HAVE TWO DIFFERENT CLASSES YOU WANT TO BE IN. JARVAN, FOR EXAMPLE, IS BOTH A TANK AND A FIGHTER CLASS. JUST CHOOSE ONE CLASS THAT INTERESTS YOU MOST. FEEL FREE TO DISCUSS WITH THE CAPTAINS A SECONDARY ROLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRY. THE ONLY LIMITATION IS A HEALER CAN NOT BE A FIGHTER OR A MAGE. THE REASON WHY WE ARE SEPARATING YOU IS SO WE CAN GET A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT YOU GUYS LIKE TO PLAY AND MAKE SURE ALL THE TEAMS GET THE PEOPLE THEY WANT. IF YOU WANT A TEAM OF ALL MARKSMEN, THEN WE CAN HELP FIND YOU YOUR DESIRED TEAMMATES. THAT BEING SAID, GO AHEAD AHRI.” Fizz hands his mic off to the foxy girl.

“THOSE OF YOU THAT WANT TO USE GRENADES AND SLINGSHOTS, FOLLOW ME.” Ahri waves her hand up. Quite a few people leave to follow her. I guess they like the idea of bombing the hell out of people… Though there is a remarkable amount of guys following her. Yasuo starts to, though I grab onto his shirt. I blinks in confusion before looking sheepish.

“I forgot how beautiful Ahri was.” Yasuo mutters.

“You literally saw her before we came here!” Ashe points out.

“It’s Ahri! No one resists her!”

“THOSE OF YOU THAT LIKE TO USE BOWS OR GUNS, MY NAME IS CAITLYN. I’LL BE EXPLAINING THE BASICS OF MARKSMEN.” The next person, a british girl with blue eyes and long black hair, waves her hand and starts to go in a different direction.

“Wish me luck, guys.” Ashe waves her hand and leaves for that group. She did mention she enjoyed archery.

“TANKS WITH ME.” A huge man calls out. Fizz leans up to the man and whispers something in his ear. “RAMMUS.” He tacks on.

“HEALERS, THE NEW DIVISION, WILL BE A PART OF MY GROUP. MY NAME IS SORAKA.” A pretty young woman waves her hand. I wave Yasuo as I follow a few others with her. I guess the other players would rather hit others more than help their team…

“WOW. SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY OF YOU, WE’RE PROBABLY GOING TO BREAK YOU INTO TWO GROUPS. QUICK IN AND OUT FIGHTERS, YOU’RE WITH ME. IF YOU PREFER TO BE BASHING EACH OTHER’S FACES FOR A WHILE, FEEL FREE TO GO WITH JARVAN.” That’s the last I hear about the club before Soraka pulls us into a nearby building. I’m with ten others, three of them are guys while the rest of us are girls. I can’t help but look at one of the brightest men I’ve ever seen. Seriously, he’s strutting around. It’s very distracting…

“Welcome to the newest division, the healers. It may take a little bit of time before we get more people, but thank you for joining me.” Soraka takes a seat on a desk while the rest of us try to get comfortable. I happen to stand next to a very sparkly girl with pink hair and blue eyes on my left and a man dressed in purple on my right. There’s a blue haired girl on the other side of the pinkette and a large man next to the bluenette. “Would you mind introducing yourselves?”

“I’ll start.” The pink haired girl starts. “I’m Seraphine-”

“No way. The Seraphine from Stars in the Sky?” A couple of people interrupt her. My own eyes widen in disbelief. A pop star? She’s here???

“That’s me. And my best friend, Sona Buvelle, is the girl next to me. The big man over by the blond one is Bard. I never got an actual name out of him as both of my fellow musicians aren’t the most vocal of people.” Seraphine pats her friends’ shoulder. Sona gives a soft wave before bowing her head down. Bard chortles with his own greeting, not actually speaking. I get that it’s a bit overwhelming, but to think I’m in the same school as a popstar… that’s amazing.

“I guess I’ll go next. The name’s Rakan, and I got the skills to prove that I’ll be the best healer. My girlfriend would kill me otherwise.” The man that grabbed my attention before gives a flourish, actually sweeping back his cape into a bow… who even wears capes anymore?

“My name is Taric.” The last male introduces himself. The tall man has a bit of a lofty air about him, but he’s nice enough.

“Karma.” An indian woman nods her head.

“I am Janna.” A pale girl with white-blind hair speaks as airily as she looks.

“Senna.” A dark-skinned girl with bright green eyes is just as curt as Karma.

“Nami.” A pretty asian girl waves her hand. Her ocean blue eyes are definitely sparkling even as she retreats a little from the attention..

“Louisa, but feel free to call me Lulu.” A short girl, shorter than me, waves her hand.

“I guess that means I’m last. My name is Leilah. It’s nice to meet you all.” I play with my scarf a little bit. I really don’t like having so much attention on me. Especially since Rakan jumps when I introduce myself. I’m not sure why, but everything about him changes. He’s focused, intently on me. I think his mouth is also hanging, though he’s quick to recover from that.

Throughout all our greetings, Soraka has been writing down everyone’s name. When we’re all done. She looks back up.

“Well, that’s everyone. As Fizz already mentioned, I’m going to be talking a little bit about strategy, along with the different roles and what you need to look out for. I’ll also answer any questions you’ll have for me. For starters, we healers are definitely going to be targets. We can bring back players into the fight. Tanks are probably going to be your best bet to help, as most are equipped with armor. Once their armor is completely covered, tanks either have to leave the fight and wipe off armor, or the next shot they take is going to be considered a hit. Each group has different shades of a color to distinguish what type hit what. Because of that, it’s easier to see the different splashes.” Soraka starts.

“There seems to be an incredible amount of thought going into this game.” Senna interrupts.

“There is. When it started, we only had arrows. More people wanted to join with different ways of fighting. We’re a club that wants to have fun, but we also want to make sure that everyone has fun, so we have rules.” Soraka spreads her hands. “It’s much like football. There are different rules and many ways to penalize them. We do the same.”

“Now, mages are going to be lobbing paint bombs from above. You’ll have to keep an eye on the sky to make sure that you aren’t going to get caught. They do count as part of the two bombs that would down a person. Marksmen also create quite the splash. Finding where all the marksmen and assassins are hard. They may camp a downed teammate. Good news is that there’s no limit to how they stay down, so try to coordinate with teammates. Fighters, ones that enjoy a good brawl and assassin types, they’ll do their best to get in and out.”

“Just a quick question, how do you know all this if it’s a new division this year?” Nami speaks up.

“We often practice with different roles using the club’s leaders. That way we can establish what makes a role broken or not. That’s pretty much it. Any other questions?” Soraka opens up the floor.

“If the competitive teams are already established, why even have healers?” Taric points out.

“I used to play the mage role. I started the healers because I didn’t exactly enjoy hurting others. That being said, the competitive teams are going to require at least three healers altogether, so that way we can see just how useful healers can be. Considering how much potential we have, I have no doubt we’ll have to restrict how many healers we get to put into the game.” Soraka addresses the concerns.

“Why can’t we hurt the other team if they get too close to us?” Senna asks.

“Well, normally, a ten would have ten players. With us on the field, one healer can make an entire team worth twenty seven people. That is a massive advantage. Because of that, we refuse to let the healers participate in real fights.”

“Does this taste like purple?” Lulu asks out of the blue. We all look a little bit confused, but turn back to the resident veteran.

“How big is the arena for paint wars?” Rakan asks a good question.

“We have a few. The competitive one is much larger, the size of a football field. The normal ones are indoors, roughly the size of a soccer field. With all the players, there’s a building nearby that is specifically designed for paint war challenges. The first level is all about the arenas. There are six of them in the normal ones due to how many people have joined or wanted to try. Above, near the rafters, are viewing platforms, that way we see your progress.. The competitive one is in a stadium, so give everyone watching some entertainment. The art club or those that want to help should be almost done in their designs, so you can start learning skirmishes right away.”

“Are there such things as friendly fire?” Senna asks again.

“As each team uses different colors and shades to indicate their team and class, we don’t have friendly fire to affect your teammates.”

“Is armor provided?” Taric questions.

“Yes. Thanks to Professor Swain’s contribution, there is enough armor for everyone. He even pays for the paintball. The tournaments are huge here. Everyone pays to watch, so he matches how much we make. The man’s a business genius.”

“How are we going to keep track of marks?” I speak up now.

“We’re open to ideas. Right now, we’re thinking of using just white paint, but as it can get covered, we need it to be in an obvious way. If you have any ideas, we’re welcome to hear them.” Soraka spreads her hands out. It’s nice to see that for such an organized club, they still need a little bit of time to figure out something. It is adding an entire division, afterall.

“Did any of the other divisions have this much trouble?” Seraphine adds on.

“Oh, we didn’t even have divisions in the first place, just paint archery. Divisions came when teams of all swordsmen appeared and would absolutely destroy the archers. Since that wasn’t so fun, competitive plays required a certain number of each class. With that in mind, the teams required different amounts of each class. I think right now it’s a minimum of two of each class until the healer group gets bigger.” 

“When can we sign up for a match?” Rakan bounces on his feet a little bit. I’ll be honest, I’m rather excited too. It certainly sounds like a lot of fun.

“Right now, all we need is for you to fill out what times you’ll be available. If you can sign onto our school’s website and register your name, class, and preferred time, we’ll get back to you.” Soraka smiles. I eagerly reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. In almost no time at all, I register myself into the system with my preferred afternoon matches. Night time is for studying and mornings are my class times. 

After I’m done, I quickly scan through the different competitive teams. There’s one for every single college here. Eleven teams… It must be more of how many games a team wins over a major tournament style…

“How many games are played in the competitive world?” Seraphine asks. Apparently, she’s also looking into the tournament style.

“We usually play six games for ranks. The last three teams are cut, then we go into quarterfinals, semi finals, and finals. For the team that gets to finals, they play around nine games. Because we make a big deal out of these teams, our competitive games are played in the spring. The fall is spent making the teams.”

“Who’s the captain of each team then?” Janna speaks up.

“Bilgewater’s Fizz, Demacia’s is Jarvan, Ionia’s is-”

“Ahri. It should be my girlfriend’s, but Xayah’s got enough on her plate with two majors. She doesn’t need more.” Rakan smiles brilliantly at the thought of his partner. I’ll be honest, I’m amazed anyone could date such a peacock, but whatever floats her boat... His eyes flicker towards me. I’ve gotten used to being looked at, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Especially since he’s looking at me like he’s figured something out. I don’t like those looks.

“...Ixtal’s is Rengar, Noxus has Draven, Piltover is Caitlyn’s team, Isles have Maokai, Sivir is Shurima’s captain, I am the captain for Targon, Sejuani rules Freljord, and Ekko is the captain for Zaun.” Soraka finishes after Rakan so rudely interrupts her.

“Are all the captains a part of the club’s board?” Karma observes.

“Yep. We hold the responsibility of organizing the teams as well as making the matches. Since we have that kind of responsibility, we get the title of being the board.”

“What about the referees?”

“Other captains or veterans of the game volunteer to be referees, though it’s only after they’re tested on how well they can spot a bad play. You’ll probably see them in the rafters of the games you skirmish on. Team captains will also be observing you guys.”

“Soraka?” Someone knocks on our door. We all turn to see a white haired mohawk on a young dark-skinned face, though there’s an odd mark right in the middle.

“This is Ekko. I mentioned that he is the captain for Zaun before. What’s up?” Soraka introduces him to us. I have to say, he’s rather confident as he walks into the room.

“All the other classes are gathering back in the courtyard before we’re dismissing everyone.” Ekko waves us as he informs Soraka of the new developments. Soraka hops off her seat and waves us to follow her. Rakan slows down a little bit to match me as we leave. He gently pulls me back for a moment. I look at him curiously. Seems like something’s on his mind.

“I didn’t think I’d get to meet the girl who helped take down the Golden Demon.” Rakan casually mentions as he pulls out a mirror. I freeze at his words. 

“How?” All the wind I had in me is immediately knocked out.

“I was there that night, playing with the kids around the puppet master. When the police swarmed the school and dismissed us, I managed to get a glimpse of your hair. I always wanted to meet you to tell you something, only I wasn’t sure if your hair was dyed that way to attract him. It wasn’t until I heard your name that I pieced it together.” Rakan’s entire posture changes. He’s not acting pretentious anymore. It’s a rather interesting change from a preening showoff to this thoughtful person he’s acting like…

“Can you please keep quiet about that? I don’t want attention. I did what I had to do and that’s that.” I try to brush past him and leave when he holds my shoulder for a moment.

“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I was going to die.” Rakan says wholeheartedly. I’ll admit, my jaw absolutely dropped at hearing that. “I was the lead actor for the upcoming play. Jhin was getting more and more persistent. The play that was going to happen, he told me he wanted to prepare me personally for my greatest performance. I didn’t realize just how creepy it was until he was being arrested in front of everyone. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.” He drops a kiss on my hand and bows. “If you ever need anything, feel free to ask.”

“Leilah? Rakan?” Soraka comes back. I blink in surprise to see the Targon Paint War leader. I didn’t think we’d be noticed… actually, I shouldn’t be surprised. Both of us have rather identifiable traits, not to mention we’re in a small group. 

“Sorry, Soraka, just needed to talk with Leilah here for a moment. We’re coming.” Rakan struts after her. I follow at a slightly slower pace. Soraka, thankfully, doesn’t bother asking. I’m not sure how I would have been able to answer.

“Leilah!” Yasuo calls out to me as we get back to the square. I’m surprised to see all my housemates nearby.

“What are you guys doing here?” I join them.

“Well, practice ended and I thought I’d visit my favorite little sister.” John ruffles my hair. I glare at him.

“I’m still older.” I bite a little bit.

“I didn’t think this would be your kind of club.” John holds his hands up.

“Ashe and Yasuo wanted to, and I thought I’d try it with them. You know, getting to know each other through activities and such.” I shrug. 

“I’m glad that you’re going to have something to do then.” John pats my back with a smile.

“I am also very pleased that you will be able to meet new friends.” Nasus agrees proudly. Ez just kisses my head, to the amusement of Ashe and Yasuo.

“Thanks. Well, that explains why my brother and his friends are here, but what about you?” I ask the eldest of us.

“I’m a part of the club.” Yone explains. I take a moment to think about where he would be. He’s the kendo captain, so he’s really good at what he does. I have no doubt that he would be on a team… then…

“Ionia’s competitive team?” I ask. Yone dips his head, affirming my suspicion.

“Ahri demanded that I join when my team won the kendo competition. I’ll admit, I didn’t think that it was a good idea on top of my studies, but… I made quite a few good friends in that club. That, and Yasuo convinced me to have a hobby outside of studies and training. It’s also…” Yone cuts himself off. Something must have been a bit of a painful memory for him. Yasuo seems to understand as he pats his older brother on his shoulder.

“It’s where he met Lillia.” Yasuo finishes the story. My interest is very much peaked right now. I want to know more, but… I don’t think it’s a good idea to push too much.

“So… when are you going to be in your first match and as what?” I change the subject a little bit. That perks the group up.

“Yasuo and I are planning to be on a morning skirmish with my team. We had four graduates last year, so we do need to find a few good teammates. What class are you planning on being?” Yone inquires.

“Healer.” I mumble. There aren’t many, so I’m not sure how he’ll take it.

“That’s the newest class. Possibly the most dangerous one. Are you sure you want to be one?” Yone sounds rather hesitant. Even John doesn’t look that comfortable, though I know that he’s more uncomfortable with the idea of me being so far out of his safety than he is with me participating in the games. He’s thrilled that I’m actually doing something on my own.

“Yeah. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Besides, it’s not the first time I’ve been in the firing line.” I shrug casually. Everyone in the group tenses up.

“What do you mean, it’s not the first time?” John asks lowly.  _ SHIT! _

“Uh, yeah… about that… can I tell you when we get back?” I stammer, paling a little bit when I finally remember that John  _ doesn’t know!  _ This… this is going to be rough.

“Let me get this straight. That night when Dad brought you back and announced that he was quitting the force, you went out to the spirit blossom festival that was being hosted at Kinkou High. You willingly chose to be bait and rely on two rogue cops to protect you, and you somehow managed to evade the killer by sheer luck?” John’s absolutely furious. We’re in his gym-smelling room (Not sure how he managed to stink it up that fast. Going to have to find some febreeze for him later). I’m sitting on his little bed while he paces across his room. Everything about him screams upright and uncomfortable.

“Uh, yeah?” I shrink a little bit. He might be nice to me usually, but I’ve seen his tempers when he lashes out. I don’t want to take the full brunt of his anger.

“...When were you going to tell me?” John’s voice cracks. He sounds like he’s close to crying. I feel so bad for keeping this hidden from him now. I misjudged him. I thought he would be furious at me, but he’s not. He’s hurting. I thought… I thought he’d hate me.

“I wanted to, John. I really did. Everyday since then, I thought about it… but I kept secrets of what happened to me for so long… I couldn’t say it out loud. I just grew to exist in this shell.” A few tears leak out of my eyes.  _ Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry… _

“You were struggling, Leilah! I remember those times! You could barely handle someone walking into the room without you knowing! How did you manage to face down a killer???”

“Because that was the one time I chose to fight. I was just so tired of being a scared little girl from when I was nine. I was thrown into that kind of situation head first. I didn’t know what I was doing, but dammit I hated it and I didn’t want to be weak! If I didn’t do that, I’m pretty sure I would still be that scared sister that couldn’t even look at her own shadow!” I scream at him. Both of us are panting. The room is too charged with high emotions. Both of us have tears streaking down our faces. John’s is because he finally realized just how much struggle I went through to be the person I am today, and he wasn’t there to help. He’s always been there for me. Mine… is because my walls are coming down. It’s remarkably freeing. I didn’t realize just how good it felt to share things with my brother… Though, I don’t know if I can tell him what really happened to me when I was nine.

“You are an idiot.” John finally chokes out. His hands are twitching. I know that he isn’t mad, but restraining himself.

“Yeah, I was.” I agree. That’s our signal. John pulls into such a tight hug I’m wondering if a bear grabbed me, but it’s worth it to know that we’ll be alright. We always have been, we always will. He’ll watch out for me, and I’ll watch out for him. Twins to the end. Maybe I’ll include Ez and Nasus. They’ve been a part of my life much longer. I think they get to hear my story now. Yasuo and Yone can wait a little bit longer before hearing it. They haven’t gotten that close to me… yet.

“Don’t ever… do that… again.” John sobs into my ear. 

“I can’t promise everything, but I’ll tell you next time.” I jokingly but seriously say. I’m not going to lie to my twin. He doesn’t deserve that. And he knows it as he lets out a snort.

“Tell everyone. At least that way we’ll have a chance.” John agrees. We both know that even if my entire world disagreed with my choice, I’d still find a way if I believed in it enough.

There’s a knock at the door. John reluctantly goes over to open it, revealing Ez and Nasus at the door. Both of them look uneasy as it has been over two hours. It’s very rare that we are that long alone while we are around them. Like I said, they’re practically family.

“Everything ok in here? We heard yelling then silence. I wasn’t sure if Leilah knocked you out or murdered you.” Ez jokes a little bit. 

“I could take her…” John grumbles a little bit.

“If she said that she’s been under fire before, I’m pretty sure that Leilah could take you and win.” Ez tries to keep going, but even thinking about my history is enough to make the joke fall a little flat. None of us know what to say to that. I wipe my face free of tears and invite them in.

The next hour is me retelling my history with the Golden Demon. I don’t need to explain my feelings or go into details, not like Ashe. They know how I would feel. It seems like once I’ve told one person, the damn burst open and I want the people most important in my life to know. Nasus has always been a stoic man, but even my tale is too much for him. He’s pale and scared. Ez is the one that surprises me. He’s not trying to move or do anything flashy. He just sits on the ground, listening. John, even if he’s heard it all before, stays. He sits next to me, keeping one arm around my shoulder. I’ve never talked so much in my life before, but it’s a relief to be sharing this with them. They’re acting better than I would have thought. Even better, they haven’t changed how they look at me. I’m not a hero or a frail girl to them. I’m Leilah Starshadow, Ez’s flirting buddy, Nasus’s fellow spar wrangler, and John Starshadow’s sister.

Even then, everyone’s still teary-eyed from hearing exactly what happened to me. We just hug each other for comfort. It doesn’t matter who’s comforting who. Nasus and John are hugging while Ezreal clings to me like a monkey. Silence rings in our room for a long time… before Ezreal’s stomach decides to growl. Nasus gives an answering rumble with his own before John and mine join in. It cuts through the tension, breaking us all into laughter. We really are a family unit here.

“Everything ok?” Yone asks outside our door. I shove Ez off me and open it. He, thankfully, doesn’t make a comment about our wet faces.

“Yep. What’s up?” My voice is dry too.

“Ashe is starting to make some dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs. You guys were gone for a really long time, so I just thought I’d check up on you.” Yone rattles off the reasons he’s here. It’s like he’s persuading himself of… something. I inwardly shrug and let it go. It’s not my business anyhow.

“We’ll be down in a moment. Thank you for coming to check on us.” I have no idea why I said that last bit, but at least he seems to appreciate it.

“Older sibling sense.” He jokingly explains.

“No need to explain to me. I know that sense well.” I joke back. He smiles as he leaves for the kitchen. I turn back to my trio pulling themselves together. It’s a testimony of how well they know each other that they don’t even try to come up with excuses for their tears. They just accept and move on.

With that said, John doesn’t let me out of his grasp. I’ll admit, I just dropped one hell of a bombshell on him. He’s not about to let me out of his sight for a while… well, he’d let me out when I’m going to sleep and classes. He doesn’t have that much of a choice, but he’d definitely prefer to come see me when he can. Nasus and Ez both stay close, guiding us to the kitchen where Yasuo and Ashe are cooking. Yasuo’s hands are flying as he cuts some vegetables. Carrots, asparagus, and onions. It seems like his swordsmanship is greatly helping him. Meanwhile, Ashe is massaging meat into meatballs. Yone is stirring a pot. It smells like tomato sauce, and it’s really good.

“Need any help?” I ask. Everyone has a bit of a relieved face as I slip around to survey any damage. Yasuo stops his chopping to grin at me.

“Good to see that you’re all alive. What were you talking about?” Yasuo immediately blurts out. He shrinks a little bit afterwards, leading me to believe that Yone shot him a glare over my shoulder.

“Just some things that should have been told years ago.” I say evasively. The pout on Yasuo’s face as he goes back to chopping- “Woah! That’s small enough! We are trying to keep them chunky, not make them into puree!”

“Oh… whoops…” Yasuo blushes a little bit as he stops. If I had been any slower, Ashe and I would have to figure out how to make veggie puree taste good with tomato sauce. Speaking of…

“Hey, Ashe? Got any more weird stuff you like to put in?” I gently take the veggies from Yasuo and give him some herbs. With a nod, he goes back to frantically chopping up the herbs. At least this time he can puree them.

“What are you talking about, weird?” Ashe scoffs.

“Tuna pizza can be a little out there, Ashe.” Ez supports me. I slip the chopped up veggies into the pot of yummy sauce. Yone keeps stirring, making sure all the veggies are coated well. Yasuo finishes his speedy slicing and dumps all the herbs into the sauce. The scent becomes stronger. I’m pretty sure all of us are salivating at the smell.

“Leilah liked it.” Ashe whines a little bit.

“I tolerated it!” I protest.

“Still, it isn’t the weirdest combination!” 

“What, do you have squid and peanut butter as a preferred snack or something?” John joins in the teasing. Ez snorts at the idea while Yone and Yasuo both grimace at the thought.

“Please don’t mention that combination.” It’s Yasuo’s turn to whine. That’s interesting to all of us. Especially when Yone looks a little green himself.

“When you have a master that if you try to back talk or do something wrong, he’s going to find creative ways to punish us. He might not be much of a chef… but he can certainly make one hell of an awful snack. Great-uncle would make significantly more disgusting snacks and wouldn’t let us eat until those snacks were done. Yasuo, naturally, got the more aggressive snacks. That one snack was one that Great-Uncle forced me to eat because I was pulling a fight between Yasuo and his friend, Yi, apart. He thought I had joined the fight and punished me. Yasuo had to eat more though.” Yone explains without prompt. I wince at the thought.

“That’s vile.” I agree with him. I search for the spoons… there it is! With my prize in hand, I go for an even bigger prize… a sample of the sauce. I’m just about to dip my spoon in when the stirring spoon stops me.

“What… do you think you are doing?” Yone asks. We both have a bit of a playful glint in our eyes, though Yone has a much better poker face than I do. I slowly try to dip the spoon in, though Yone is quick to block it.

“It’s called sampling, Yone. I need to make sure that it’s good.” I try to reason with the swordsman…  _ I am so going to fail. _

“Yeah, right! You would eat about half of it while it’s cooking!” John pipes up.  _ Damn you, John! _

“Or, you can let it be. Ashe and you are very good at cooking. I’m sure you can trust your senses.” Yone teases me.  _ This…. is … WAR! _

With a small cry, I try to get the spoon in. Yone’s hand grabs mine before I can touch the sauce. Still, I have to try. The spoon I have is dropped into my other hand and it swipes for the sauce. Yone slips the spoon out of my fingers. Silly man. I lunge for the spoon. If only he wasn’t so tall! With that, I try to take the other spoon, the one stirring the pot. He can’t lift it away to avoid dripping sauce! I manage to wrap a hand around his wrist, stopping it from leaving. His other hand, the one holding my spoon, grabs on. Now is my chance! I try to slip the spoon from his hands, but… I’m tiny, he’s massive. He easily catches my second hand and holds them both, and my spoon, in one hand. The other is somehow still calmly stirring the pot, like nothing happened.

“Patience and trust, Leilah.” Yone teases me. I huff, but admit defeat.

“Ah. Young love.” Ashe decides to tease. It’s about time that I realize that we are very close to each other and were in our own little world. Both of us blush and spread apart from each other. I manage to steal the spoon back and slip a taste. Heaven still isn’t enough to take my blush away, though Yone does shoot me a glare.

“Did you have to interrupt them? They were being adorable.” Yasuo whines a little bit. It’s also only now that I see Yasuo’s hands covering John’s and Ez’s mouth as they both struggle to speak. Nasus is just shaking his head while sipping on some water he got himself while I wasn’t looking.

“Well, it’s either say something now or deal with Starshadow trying to kill him. Take your pick.” Ashe shrugs.The younger brother sighs and lets go. John narrows his eyes at Yone while Ez just slides off his chair, crying over how I could betray our love. The drama queen…

“Leilah, if you are going to be dating, can you please flirt without me in the room? I like Yone and all that, but I would rather you didn’t flirt so blatantly in front of me.” John lightly comments.

“I’m not flirting!” I protest while I’m preparing to boil the spaghetti. Yone echoes my sentiments. Everyone at the table rolls their eyes before breaking off into different topics. Ashe enjoys asking the football trio how they work so well, while Yasuo and Yone start bickering over Yasuo’s behaviour. I just hum, enjoying the soft camaraderie. 

It’s too bad that I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. Tomorrow’s the start of classes, and my first class is with Professor Degnis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say, Ordinary's actually really fun to write. Seriously, like I'm thinking of some really dark things to write about, and this... this is something that I needed to do. With that said, Extraordinary is my priority. Just know that sometimes I'm going to have manic postings of Ordinary, then silence for a while as I get the next arc for Extraordinary ready. I just really enjoy writing, and I hope you guys are enjoying reading this just as much. I would love to get reviews and feedback!


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